Today we live in a society, which can not imagine life without expressing views on social media. Probably it does have certain advantages. Nevertheless, many participants of active discussions have already forgotten or do not even know about the developments, which unfolded in Armenia 5, 10 or 15 years ago.
To fill the gap Mediamax presents 5/10/15 project, which introduce developments in Armenia 5, 10 and 15 years ago.
• 15 YEARS AGO: MAY 11-17, 2005
Bringing NK to European integration processes
Armenian President Robert Kochatyan stated in Warsaw on May 16 that he saw the prospects of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the context of respect for European values.
“Armenia believes in Europe with open borders, without violence, blockades and refugees; in Europe, where human rights and peoples’ right for a free choice are respected, where the present is being built on the objective evaluation of the past. We see the prospect of settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in this context, particularly in seeking the formula for attracting the de-facto formed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic to European integration processes,” said Kocharyan, addressing the Council of Europe Summit.
CoE Secretary General Terry Davis (in thr middle) and President of Poland Alexander Kwasniewski (on the right) at the Warsaw SummitPhoto: REUTERS
Oskanyan declines Aliyev’s proposal
On the same day in Warsaw, Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan Oskanyan stated that Azeraijani President Ilham Aliyev’s proposal to grant “the highest status of autonomy” to Nagorno-Karabakh was unacceptable for the Armenian side.
Armenian FM stated that the autonomy was already a “passed stage” for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. “They have had autonomy as part of Azerbaijan in the Soviet times and were discriminated by Azerbaijani authorities,” he recalled, addressing the Council of Europe Summit.
• 10 YEARS AGO: MAY 11-17, 2010
“Turkey returned to the languages of preconditions”
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian stated that after signing the protocols on normalizing relations with Armenia, “Turkey returned to the language of preconditions, thus blocking ratification of protocols in the parliament”.
Speaking at the session of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, Nalbandian stated that “despite numerous difficulties, we started the process at the mediation of Switzerland, held negotiations and signed protocols with common understanding of the fact that there can be no preconditions in the normalization process”.
Edward Nalbandian stressed that normalization of relations with Turkey was the initiative of the Armenian President.
“This is why the Armenian President made a decision to suspend ratification until Ankara is again ready to continue the process without preconditions, and this step was positively perceived by the international community,” said Nalbandian.
• 5 YEARS AGO: MAY 11-17, 2015
Edelstein’s call
On May 12, Spokesman of Israel Knesset Yuli-Yoel Edelstein urged the country’s government to recognize the Armenian Genocide.
Addressing the Israeli parliament during a special session dedicated to the Armenian Genocide Centennial, Edelstein said that Israel could no longer give in to diplomatic pressures or “hide behind vague wording”.
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and Yuli-Yoel EdelsteinPhoto: REUTERS
“It is no secret that Israel has taken too ambivalent a stance on the Armenian genocide. There are many reasons, diplomatic and otherwise, for the Israeli stance being too hesitant and restrained, which downplayed the magnitude of the historical event. We Jews who are still suffering from the impact of the Holocaust cannot minimize the tragedy,” he said.
The Spokesman described the Armenian Genocide as "one of the dramatic events and low points that transpired here at the beginning of the previous century”. He noted that according to most estimates, some 1.5 million people were killed, "through acts of slaughter and expulsion, out of racism and xenophobia”.
Armenia concerned about Russian arms in Azerbaijan
On May 12, Defense Minister of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan said that the “appearance of Russian arms in Azerbaijan spurs concern”.
“The appearance of Russian arms in Azerbaijan indeed spurs concern among us. It’s the issue of each sovereign state. I think that in line with all this, the Russian leadership keeps our region and neighbors under a state of control, especially given that the Armenian-Russian relations are on high level in cooperation in the military and technical sector,” highlighted Seyran Ohanyan.
Ara Tadevosyan
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