Director of Armenia's Pan-National Theater Sos Sargsyan says that Armenian athletes' victories were Armenia's greatest achievements in 2009.
"I believe that artists and athletes must glorify Armenia. I am very happy for Nazik Avdalyan and Arakel Mirzoyan," Sos Sargsyan told "A1+".
Sargsyan said that the year's most important event was Armenia's steps toward normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations. According to the actor, it was a good step only in terms of raising Armenia's reputation in the world, but relations with Turks in other terms are dangerous.
"If Armenians think that the Turks are going to greet us with open arms, they are mistaken. The Turks can't want what's good for us because they know that we have witnessed their long-standing atrocities," said the actor.
Sargsyan added that although he understands that it is necessary to have normal relations with neighboring countries, there are many "buts" and reservations in the case of Turkey.
According to him, there was one mistake in the process: Armenians don't understand that the relations favor Turkey first. "The Turks are very interested, but they are cunningly hiding that interest and leaving it up to Armenia. We must realize that the time has come for Armenia to be the one calling the shots," said Sargsyan. He also mentioned that he was not in favor of the formulation "reopening" of borders because in his opinion, "that's not Armenia's border and it must simply be said that Armenia is establishing diplomatic relations."
The actor is concerned about the future of Turkish-Armenian relations. "They often ask me, ‘will Armenia become a northern province of Turkey?' and I tell them that it is very possible, if we don't strengthen the fight for the Armenian Cause and don't demand that the Turks recognize the Armenian Genocide," said Sos Sargsyan.
