September 30, 2009 - 16:11 AMT
All-Armenian tour - opportunity to impart new meaning to Armenia-Diaspora relations
Armenian President's all-Armenian tour to big Armenian Diaspora communities is an important initiative not only for discussing Armenian-Turkish Protocols but also imparting a new meaning to Armenia-Diaspora relations, Director of National Strategic Research Institute, major-general Hayk Kotanjyan told a news conference in Yerevan. "Dialogue between Armenia and Diaspora is very important. It will enable outstanding Diaspora representatives to voice their approaches and listen to Armenian leader's responses," expert said, stressing the importance of conducting an on-going dialogue.

At that he noted that dialogue with Diaspora played strategically important role for Armenia. "It is necessary to make the traditional approaches - 'Hay dat' and international recognition of Armenian Genocide - the underlying principles of Armenia-Diaspora cooperation," Kotanjyan finds. Besides, he said, Armenian people's efforts towards achieving Genocide recognition cannot fully reflect the priority interests of all Armenians, and it's very important for Diaspora to reach consensus on most important national issues.

For the first time in history, Armenian President will conduct an all-Armenian tour to biggest Armenian communities. Serzh Sargsyan will meet with Armenian community leaders in New York, Paris, Los Angeles, Beirut and Rostov-on-Don. Visit aims at revealing Armenian Diaspora's views on Armenian-Turkish rapprochement.