Armenia Will Not Build Relations with Turkey at the Expense of Its Nation's Interests: Zareh Sinanyan

I am confident that Armenia will not build relations with Turkey at the expense of its nation's interests. This was stated by Zareh Sinanyan, the chief commissioner for diaspora affairs under the Prime Minister of Armenia, on December 23.

According to him, normal relations with neighbors stem from Armenia's security, but they should not be built at the expense of national dignity, future, and identity. “Up until now, I have not seen any signs that any process related to Turkey has occurred at the expense of our national issues and history. And I cannot persuade the diaspora to support the process of normalizing relations with Turkey if it ignores certain facts and truths that the country must accept if we want to have normal relations,” he noted.

Sinanyan also explained why he has never visited Iran: “I was supposed to visit Iran in 2019, but the visit was postponed at the suggestion of the Iranian ambassador because elections were to be held in Iran. The visit was deferred until May 2020. However, in March, the pandemic started, and the visit to Iran became impossible. Then the war began. Since February 2020, I have not been to any country, except for Lebanon (after the explosion in Beirut). I will definitely go to Iran. We are in constant contact with Iranian Armenians, and we have good relations with them,” he mentioned.