“During this period of Armenia-Turkey dialogue, your government regularly announced that there are no preconditions. Meanwhile, Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar; conditioned the relations by holding the extended hand of Azerbaijan, signing an agreement, and opening the “Zangezur Corridor.” Turkish officials repeat this regularly. Are that preconditions?” asked Gegham Manukyan, deputy of “The Hayastan” faction, to Civil Contract faction deputy Sargis Khandanyan at the National Assembly session on February 8.
Let’s remind that in the regular session of the 5th session of the 8th convocation of the National Assembly, the candidacy of Sargis Khandanyan, deputy of the CC faction, for the position of the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the National Assembly was discussed. CC faction deputy Eduard Aghajanyan resigned from the post of chairman of the NA Foreign Relations Committee, and Civil Contract nominated Sargis Khandanyan.
Sargis Khandanyan first mentioned that the principle of regulating relations with Turkey without preconditions is not only for their government but also for all RA authorities since independence. “Such statements cause concern for the pace we would like to have in that process. Also, these are the hindering circumstances. I am sure that our negotiator expresses these concerns to his Turkish counterpart. Such statements do not contribute to the results we expect in the negotiation process.”
Another deputy of the “Armenia” faction, Tadevos Avetisyan, also asked whether Turkey is a threat to the security of Armenia. Sargis Khandanyan answered: “We have concluded the 44-day war. And no one denies Turkey’s participation and active involvement, but we cannot try to condition our relations and foreign policy in an environment of continuous hostility. We must continue to work so that the hostility is managed, the threats are managed, and in the end, we reach a point where the region is peaceful and secure.” Tadevos Avetisyan responded that he did not receive an answer to his question. “Let’s put it on record that you do not consider Turkey a threat to the security of Armenia. If you don’t think so, Turkey is a threat.” Sargis Khandanyan answered: “Not sharing the logic of your speech does not mean that I agree with it. I expressed my position.”
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Luiza SUKIASYAN
