Crosses on domes of Armenian churches arouse Ankara's fearsNovember 6, 2009 - 20:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The reconstruction of St. Kirakos church of Diarbekir (historical name: Tigranakert) was not Turkey's initiative; the idea was proposed by Istanbul Armenian community with the participation of Archbishop Aram Ateshyan, primate of AAC Patriarchate in Istanbul, Turkish studies expert Ruben Melkonyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. A recent fire seriously damaged the building which is in a rather poor state, he said, adding that "Only walls and pillars remain standing, so its still early to speak about restoration." According to some documents discovered from Diarbekir archive, certain buildings belong to either Armenian communities or churches and schools, Armenian expert noted. Relevant Legal processes are currently under way. "As mentioned by one of Diarbekir officials, half of the town will be recognized as Armenian in case those documents prove legal," Melkonyan stressed. At the same time, he didn't rule out possibility of Turkey's attempting to impede the process of church reconstruction since Crosses on domes of Armenian churches arouse Ankara's fears. "No church in Western Armenia has a cross on its dome. That's Turkey's state policy," Armenian expert said. At that he noted that Turkey's initiative may be viewed from two angles: as PR reaction on one hand and distortion of Armenian architecture on other. "In almost all their statements, Turkish officials remind that they are reconstructing Armenian churches," Melkonyan said, adding that architects do not always obtain the true image of construction as a result of restoration work. In that regard, he estimated Armenian architects' non-involvement as a great disadvantage. 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 | IDBank, Dalma team up for Caucasian Deer Reintroduction Program IDBank has joined Dalma Garden Mall’s Green Challenge to support the Caucasian red deer reintroduction project. Through Ucom’s support the 12th Sunchild Festival concludes On May 24-28, with the support of Ucom, the 12th international environmental festival Sunchild took place in Yerevan. U.S., Turkey emphasize importance of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal Jake Sullivan and Akif Cagatay Kilic have discussed the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia coach expects good football in Slovenia friendly The Armenian national team has left for Ljubljana a friendly match against Slovenia on June 4. |