MOSCOW. - It is necessary to open an Armenian Genocide Museum in Moscow. The director of the Black Sea Institute of Political and Social Research Vladimir Zakharov said on Wednesday during a teleconference dedicated to the adoption of the bill criminalizing genocides, including the Armenian Genocide, by the French Senate.

The expert recalled that Russia had hosted many refugees and many publications appeared in pre-revolution Russian press – all this must be presented in a Museum.

On his turn the director of Armenian Genocide-Museum Institute Hayk Demoyan mentioned that museums are not created for political purposes and they cannot serve as instruments for solving short-term problems.

“The Museum is a depository for memories and its aim is to prevent this kind of crimes,” Demoyan stressed.

He also mentioned that many facts of the Armenian Genocide have been witnessed and registered by Russian soldiers and officers, journalists and writers. The opening of a Genocide museum in Russia is a good idea, but it should also include materials about other crimes against humanity.

“We demand recognition of the Armenian Genocide and criminal punishment for its denial not for our peace of mind but in order to prevent such crimes in the future,” Demoyan concluded.