"It is Turkey that hampers the reconciliation process"
Those arguments coming from Turkey in view of France's decision to criminalize the Armenian Genocide denial, do not withstand any criticism, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in Lithuania.
"The Turks say the law will further complicate Armenian-Turkish relations. But everyone knows that it is Turkey that hampers the reconciliation process," he said replying a journalist's question in Vilnius.
Turkey says the law is an attempt to edit history. Unfortunately, the black pages of the tragic history of our nation have already been written, and the only way to turn these pages is the recognition and condemnation of this crime against humanity.
The bill passed by the French Senate is not targeted against any concrete country, the Armenian Foreign Minister said, adding that Turkey's reaction is an evidence of that country's state policy of denial.
Referring to the same issue, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister said: "Sooner or later the history knocks at the door of the present, and we have to open it. We have to look the history in the face and assess the reality in an open, transparent and fair way. Without that we'll never have peace in stable inter-state relations. That is why I think that right are the politicians who say that history must be discussed, while those who say history should be left to historians are wrong. Mistrust in bilateral relations will exist until we square accounts with the past."
