YEREVAN -- A statement opposing Armenia's proposed rapprochement with Turkey was issued by 11 Armenian political parties on October 6, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reported.
The statement, which was supported by the Zharangutyun (Heritage) party of ex-Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (HHD), opposes the opening of the border with Turkey and voices concern over the planned establishment of a Turkish-Armenian intergovernmental subcommission to examine the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-18.
The overlapping time frame between the normalization of ties between Armenia and Turkey and Armenian-Azerbaijan talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute was also listed as a concern.
HHD Executive Council of Armenia representative Armen Rustamian told RFE/RL that the situation is "very serious."
But he said the hope is that a joint statement "will make it possible to prevent developments that are undesirable and damaging" for Armenians.
"This is an issue of pan-national signifiance," he said, and "this unity [of political parties], in its essence, is pure and sincere."
The statement, which was supported by the Zharangutyun (Heritage) party of ex-Foreign Minister Raffi Hovannisian and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (HHD), opposes the opening of the border with Turkey and voices concern over the planned establishment of a Turkish-Armenian intergovernmental subcommission to examine the mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915-18.
The overlapping time frame between the normalization of ties between Armenia and Turkey and Armenian-Azerbaijan talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute was also listed as a concern.
HHD Executive Council of Armenia representative Armen Rustamian told RFE/RL that the situation is "very serious."
But he said the hope is that a joint statement "will make it possible to prevent developments that are undesirable and damaging" for Armenians.
"This is an issue of pan-national signifiance," he said, and "this unity [of political parties], in its essence, is pure and sincere."
