Ruben Safrastyan: In claims to Turkey, Armenia should use Genocide factor

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia and Diaspora has much to do in shaping the demands from political and scientific perspectives, professor Ruben Safrastyan , Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of RA NAS told a news conference in Yerevan, commenting on the statements by the Armenian President in the Deir ez-Zor, where the latter raised the issue of the claims to Turkey.



 'We must be ready to transfer the issue of the Armenian Genocide recognition from the political arena to the international legal framework, " Mr. Safrastyan said, adding that Armenia should formulate its requirements in line with current international legal principles. 



According to him, the Armenian people must understand what these requirements mean to them. 



"We need to understand what and in which form do we want," the Armenian expert said. 



"I think at this stage we have to use the factor of Genocide, since the international community gradually becomes aware that the Genocide is a terrible crime against humanity," Ruben Safrastyan said.



In regard to claims over the historical Armenian territories, Mr. Safrastyan said this issue also is on the agenda. "I do not think that we have the right to raise this issue at this stage. However, we must prepare that the second phase over claims to Turkey may come", Ruben Safrastyan said.



The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres, and deportations involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million. 



The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.