Armenia and Turkey shouldn't jeopardize future generations by problems of the past

Turkish-Armenian relations have long and deep-rooted history. The question is which aspects of these relations should be considered today. Should we cover all dimensions of Turkish-Armenian relations or should we restrict ourselves to discussion of the events of 1915. If we seek answers for current problems in history and take it for a starting point, there would be no future for Turkish-Armenian relations.There were a lot problems and wars among different societies in history. As of today, we can see that all these countries have peaceful relations. For instance, The Russian Federation and Germany which used to be enemies 60 years ago, today are very close allies.

Why haven't Turkey and Armenia become friends? No one should forget that only historians are to decide who was right or wrong. Resting on their assessments, we could change the world. Therefore, the future of Turkish-Armenian relations can be very bright or very dark at the same time. The most important thing is how much we want peace and good relations.

The Turkish-Azerbaijani relations are not ordinary relations between two countries. Both countries' priorities and interests are overlapping. Advocating Baku's interests, Turkey is actually protecting its own interests. No one can blame Turkey for protecting its own interests. Under the circumstances, Turkish President Abdullah Gul's decision to visit Yerevan on the 6th September 2008 was a great risk.
Turkey wants peace, stability and welfare in the region. We are not at loggerheads with, Armenia. Therefore, we do not have any intention to exclude Armenia from projects. If there is peace in the region, Armenia can join all regional projects including the energy ones. It can also join Nabucco. Everything is in its hands.

I would not open any discussion here. We think that Turkey did not commit any genocide including that of Armenians. Under war conditions, there were acts initiated in Turkey by Armenians. This is due to requirements of war. We should take it into account when speaking about the past and leave its analysis to historians.

Present-day Turkish-Armenian relations are clouded not only by the genocide issue but also by absence of agreement on borders between the two countries. Armenia should declare openly and on the basis of agreements that it does not have any territorial demands from Turkey. Turkey also has to make a similar statement.

Armenia should give up its genocide propaganda. Similarly, it has to seal a peaceful agreement with Azerbaijan on the Nagorno Karabakh problem. In this case we can develop all kind of good relations with Armenia. Both Armenia and Turkey should not put pressure on current and future generations' lives through the past.