Dutch minister at Armenian Genocide commemorations for 1st time April 24, 2018 - 18:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Junior finance minister Menno Snel attended a ceremony to mark the 103rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on behalf the Dutch parliament on Tuesday, April 24, DutchNews.nl says. Parliament voted in February almost unanimously in favour or recognising the killing of 1.5 million Armenians in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire as genocide. Only Denk voted against the motion. The government then agreed to send a minister to the commemoration of the Armenian genocide in Yerevan, in line with parliament’s wishes, without formally recognising the genocide as such. "By attending the commemoration we are showing our respect for the terrible events done to minorities, in the same way that the government attends the commemoration of the Dutch slavery history," Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Sigrid Kaag said during a debate on the issue. Snel declined to speak to reporters after the ceremony, broadcaster NOS said.  Top stories The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. London’s Armenian community has been left feeling “under attack” after the city’s Genocide monument was vandalised. The United States believes there should be an international mission to provide transparency.   Partner news |  Topic Latest news Turkey extends military presence in Azerbaijan  The Turkish parliament has adopted a bill submitted by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to extend the mandate of Turkish troops.Russia to begin assessing migrant workers' speaking skills Rosobrnadzor is planning to change the Russian language exam for migrant workers and include an assessment of speaking skillsArmenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi ArabiaPashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”. |
