Turkey is going to punish U.S. if Congress will dare to raise Genocide issueMarch 6, 2007 - 17:11 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian is worried about high-level Turkish lobbying against a proposed congressional resolution that would recognize as Genocide the early 20th century killings of up to 1.5 million Armenians. In the interview to The Associated Press the RA FM stated, "Governments should stay away from meddling in these matters. But when topics of interest for Armenia are being discussed, we cannot remain as a government indifferent, particularly in light of Turkish lobbying at a government level." He also stressed that "the Turkish warnings are an attempt to silence critics of Turkey's position on genocide abroad as it has domestically through its penal code." "Now Turks are traveling to punish the United States if the U.S. Congress dares to speak out about the Armenian Genocide," the Armenian FM stated. Oskanian said he discussed the resolution with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Monday's meeting. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Armenia border residents dissatisfied with delimitation Residents Kirants are dissatisfied with the results of the delimitation of the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. “Great success”: Pashinyan pleased with new border protocol Pashinyan has described the signing by Armenia and Azerbaijan of a protocol on delimitation in Tavush as “a great success”. Armenia, Azerbaijan sign protocol on demarcation coordinates Armenia’s government took on May 15 another step towards handing over four border areas to Azerbaijan. Power of One Dram sums up two-year program with Teach for Armenia Idram Junior also joined the companies during the visit, bringing with it a fascinating intellectual game for children |