Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Hakob Arshakyan said on Wednesday that the peoples of Turkey and Armenia should change their attitudes toward each other to deal with the countries' pressing problems
YEREVAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th February, 2023) Armenian National Assembly Deputy Speaker Hakob Arshakyan said on Wednesday that the peoples of Turkey and Armenia should change their attitudes toward each other to deal with the countries' pressing problems.
Earlier in the day, Armenia sent 27 rescuers to Turkey and 29 to Syria to help the two countries deal with the aftermath of Monday's earthquakes that killed more than 11,000 people in the two countries.
"Turkey is our neighboring country and if we do not manage our problems, others will deal with them based on their interests. In order to cope with these problems, it is also necessary to change the mutual attitude of the peoples of the two countries toward each other," Arshakyan, a representative of the ruling parliamentary faction Civic Agreement, said on social media.
The deputy speaker noted that some political forces in Armenia were trying to play on society's "emotions" by using the Armenian authorities' decision to provide aid to earthquake victims in Turkey.
"This humanitarian step is very important not only in terms of the attitude of Turkish society, but also of the international community. It is an aspiration for a dignified conversation between the two countries, where Armenia speaks from its state interests ... In numerous confrontations, conflicts and wars in the world, the sides are trying to find the edges of dialogue and manage the conflicts," Arshakyan added.
Turkey and Armenia currently do not have official diplomatic relations. The border between the two countries has been closed on Ankara's initiative since 1993. Tensions between the nations arose over a range of issues, including Turkey's support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and its opposition to the process of international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire. Turkish and Armenian negotiators met several times in Moscow and Vienna in the past year in an effort to establish a neighborly relationship.
