"Turkey wants Armenia to cede territories"
Armenia's ex Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian thinks Armenian people could commemorate the 94th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in more encouraging conditions.
"This year we wanted to read in the eyes of our neighbours a readiness to shoulder the burden of history. But our expectations didn't come true. On the contrary, today I experience more bewilderment and doubt than I did in the previous years," Mr. Oskanian said in Beirut.
The ex FM criticized the establishment of Armenian-Turkish historians' commission.
"What are they talking about? Only Turkey claims that the issue needs to be studied. Only Turkey casts doubt on historic facts. Establishment of a commission to study the authenticity of the genocide is inadmissible," said Mr. Oskanian.
Under the Sèvres treaty, Armenia's territory was to be ten times larger today.
Turkey renounced the treaty signed by the Turkish government and created a new de-facto situation by force which led to the signing of the Lausanne agreement which determined the current borders of Armenia.
Asked whether Armenia will make concessions to Turkey regarding the Karabakh conflict, Vartan Oskanian said: "Turkey wants Armenia to cede the territories which will protect us from the reoccurence of the 1915 events. But Turkey's expectations run counter to ours. There is no coincidence of interests in this issue. Moreover, as Turkey fully realises that the Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved in the near future, it claims that the territories around Karabakh be returned to Azerbaijan. If in case of the preceding prerequisites there are chances to reach a diplomatic agreement, in this case it is quite impossible. "
