YEREVAN. – Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Saturday received the delegation of well-known “Paasikivi” foreign policy society which consists of Finland’s political and public figures, diplomats and experts.

Minister Nalbandian briefed the guests on the Armenian foreign policy priorities, steps towards the development of partnership with different states and regions, Armenia’s approaches on regional issues and their resolution, efforts of Armenia and the international community toward the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Answering one of the questions, Minister Nalbandian touched upon the claim by the Turkish Foreign Minister that the content of the non-pronounced speech in Zurich during the signing ceremony was similar to that of the Turkish PM statement on April 23. Nalbandian noted that Turkish FM may forget that on October 10, 2009 there were other participants in Zurich who could remind what happened in reality.

“I would like to recall that according to the reached agreement everyone who was to make a statement during the signing ceremony of Protocols in Zurich should have beforehand provided their texts of speeches. Turkey breached this arrangement. This is the reason why the signing ceremony was postponed so long until the Turkish side felt obliged to provide the statement text.

All the representatives of states participating in the signing ceremony considered the statement text of the Turkish side as unacceptable and suggested to hold the ceremony without any speeches and the Turkish Foreign Minister was obliged to accept that. That was the reason why the ceremony took place with nearly 3-hours delay. Moreover, right after the signing ceremony the participating Foreign Ministers made public comments, underlining that any statement made following the signing could not have an impact on the reached agreements enshrined in the Protocols.

If the Turkish side considers, that it could reanimate today what was rejected by all four and a half years ago, it is in vain and without perspectives.  By the way, I told the same to the Turkish Foreign Minister last December in Yerevan,” highlighted Minister Nalbandian.

Edward Nalbandian added, “It would be appalling to imagine that the perpetrators of Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, other crimes against humanity, can be equated with the victims. 99 years ago on May 24, 1915 Russia, France and Great Britain issued a special declaration by which they warned the perpetrators of the atrocities against the Armenian people that they would be held personally responsible for “these new crimes of Turkey against humanity and civilization.” That statement is still important for the international community in preventing new genocides, new crimes against humanities.”