We Must Prevent the Turkification of Armenia: Sagatelyan

We must prevent the Turkification of Armenia. This was stated by the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and representative of the ARF Bureau, Ishkhan Sagatelyan, on his Facebook page.

Specifically, the Deputy Speaker wrote, “Dear compatriots, yesterday we learned from the hostile Turkish leader that the person occupying the position of Prime Minister of Armenia has indirectly requested a meeting with him. Disregarding diplomatic niceties, Erdogan announced this and displayed his imperative and disrespectful attitude towards the leadership of Armenia.

It is notable that a new precondition has been publicly added to the previous Turkish prerequisites: the provision of a corridor connecting the Turkic world through Syunik. The mere mention of this precondition by Erdogan, as well as the program of the Armenian government, provides sufficient grounds to assume that the other Turkish preconditions being imposed on Armenia—rejection of the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, de jure acceptance of the current Armenia-Turkey border, and renunciation of Artsakh—have been fulfilled by the Armenian authorities.

The government of Armenia, driven by the self-proclaimed and unrealistic idea of establishing unilateral regional peace, along with its leader, clearly does not understand what modern Turkey, led by unabashed pan-Turkic ambitions, and its president, who is captivated by the bygone behavior of Ottoman sultans, represent.

But Erdogan and the enemies of our people must clearly understand that the person occupying the position of Prime Minister of Armenia cannot be equated with the Armenian state. Yes, the Armenian people are living through one of the most difficult periods of their history, but this does not mean that the Armenian people will refuse their inalienable rights and jeopardize the existence of our state in the face of Azerbaijani-Turkish threats.

The past century of our people’s history is an exceptional example and lesson of national revival. In a short time, a people that was subjected to genocide was able to straighten its back and, with incredible efforts, create a state after a century-long interruption, develop art and culture, and liberate Artsakh.

Dear compatriots, we must unitedly reject this destructive agenda imposed by the forces of evil and prevent the Turkification of Armenia. The question of the existence of Armenian statehood is on the table, and we do not have the right to reconcile or retreat.

P.S. I remind you that during the War, the National Assembly characterized the aggression unleashed against Artsakh as Azerbaijani-Turkish terrorism; it is interesting to know what has changed, are they no longer terrorists?”