Epress.am News from Armenia
At a press conference today, Heritage Party MP Armen Martirosyan said that though Armenia gained independence, till today its price is still not understood.
“Regretfully, the policy carried out till today shows that for certain ruling officials, independence has become a burden,” he said, making a smooth segue to the liturgy in Aghtamar’s Holy Cross and Armenia-Turkey relations.
“Unfortunately, that which took place yesterday [the liturgy] was the result of the Armenian side’s activities. The Armenian side didn’t even imagine what game it’s entering due to the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, which from the beginning were asymmetric,” said the National Assembly deputy, adding that the Armenian side allowed Turkey to become a serious factor in the region.
“Of course, it’s gratifying that a liturgy is taking place in an ancient church; however, it’s painful that it’s carried out purely for propaganda purposes, with which Turkey once again had the opportunity to take on the role of peacemaker in the eyes of the international community,” said Martirosyan, expressing his viewpoint and adding that this is but one part of the entire Armenia-Turkey process: the process is still going to go through many ups and downs, one of which was the liturgy on Aghtamar island.
“We, the Heritage Party, of course, are in support of having good neighborly relations with Turkey, however, they have to happen without preconditions, and I think that the event of having the liturgy in Holy Cross Church could’ve been a good opportunity for the Armenian side, so that the Protocols were recalled from parliament,” concluded the Heritage Party MP.