As a result of several study visits organized by European Friends of Armenia (EuFoA) to Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh with different parliamentarians, the parliament of Navarre, Spain, adopted Monday, June 23, a declaration recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

The declaration adopted by the unicameral parliament reads that “in accordance with the resolution of the European Parliament of June 1987, reaffirmed by subsequent resolutions (February 28, 2002 and April 1, 2004), the events suffered by the Armenian people are an authentic genocide”.

“As we are nearing the centenary of the Armenian Genocide, such declarations clearly show European solidarity with Armenian people and their suffering,” commented EuFoA Director Eduardo Lorenzo Ochoa. “EuFoA is proud that thanks to its extensive network, more and more key European stakeholders are aware of the importance of this issue,” he added, according to an EuFoA press release

The declaration denounces the policy developed by the Turkish regime existing at that time and calls on Turkey “to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia in spirit of good and harmonious neighborhood, and to resolve their border dispute peacefully.”

In addition, the text underlines that given Turkey’s status as candidate for EU membership, those two issues (the recognition of the Genocide and the normalization of diplomatic relations) should be urgently addressed.

Navarre is a Spanish autonomous region in the north, bordering France, roughly the size of Cyprus (10,391 km2) and populated by around 650,000 inhabitants (equivalent of Montenegro). It is the fourth region in Spain that has recognized the Armenian Genocide, after the Basque Country, Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.