Permission to conduct a liturgy in Akhtamar's Holy Cross church in Turkey was a result of a lengthy struggle. An annual liturgy in Holy Cross church is better than none at all, said Zafer Yoruk, Lecturer of Media and Politics at Izmir University of Economics.

As he noted at September 4 news conference in Yerevan, the Christian holy mass to be conducted has come as a result of a struggle against 90-year-long policy of negation. Despite the Treaty of Lausanne stipulation on respecting the right of religious freedom, Turkey is not observing it, Yoruk noted. However, he characterized the opening of Akhtamar's Holy Cross and Greek church in Trabzon as the first steps towards the Treaty implementation.