Turks have always cribbed Armenian songs because a man with yataghan in his hand can never compose a song like “Krunk”, said Daniel Yerazhisht, director of Sharakan ensemble.

“Plagiarism continues from that day to this,” he told a news conference on June 28.

According to singer poet Ruben Hakhverdyan, Armenians “steal” songs like Turks. “Should high quality Turkish music be represented in Armenia, it would be popular enough. But Armenians just listen to what is brought here,” he said. “I think that the border with Turkey is open, as Turkish music sounds in Armenian restaurants.”

He said he wouldn’t mind performance of his songs in Turkish, “once they performed well.”

“My songs are already performed in Russian and Czech languages,” he said.