Serzh Sargsyan: Armenia has good relations with both the U.S. and Russia

February 13, 2010 - 18:00 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net -
Armenia maintains good relations with the United States, and Russia. Armenia and Russia are developing strategic partnership, the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview to Al Jazeera Arabic television channel. "There are many Armenians in the U.S. who serve like a bridge in our relations with the United States. The best condition for us is when we have good relations with both Russia and the United States," the Armenian president said.

Serzh Sargsyan stressed that Armenians from over the world have always contributed to Armenia, but it would be desirable if they could return to their homeland.

Speaking about the need to recognize the Armenian Genocide by the United States, the President of Armenia said that the recognition of the genocide is a recognition of justice. According to Serzh Sargsyan, President Barack Obama literally said that he had not changed his opinion on the matter.

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948 as General Assembly Resolution 260. The Convention came into effect in January 1951. It defines genocide in legal terms, and is the culmination of years of campaigning by lawyer Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term by reference to the Simele massacre, the Holocaust, and the Armenian Genocide. All participating countries are advised to prevent and punish actions of genocide in war and in peacetime. The number of states that have ratified the convention is currently 140.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.