Armenia’s president Armen Sarkissian is ready for a dialogue with his Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
“I do not imagine how we can speak about the First World War and not mention, not go back to the tragic history of Armenian nation that happened 105 years ago in 1915, the Genocide of Armenians”, said President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian during an interview with the Swiss Radio Television RTS on October 23.
The President was invited to talk at the Swiss television on the occasion of the ceremonies of November 11, during which several Heads of States will commemorate the First World War.
“The recognition by Heads of States or remembering by the Heads of States will be highly appreciated by me, by the State of Armenia and by Armenian nation worldwide,” he continued.
When asked about the message he would send to the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Armen Sarkissian said that he is ready for a dialogue, he then invoked his Christian convictions saying that he does not exclude forgiveness but “forgiveness comes after recognition.” The President estimates that this recognition will have a larger historical significance, the Armenian genocide being the “first genocide of the 20th century.”
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World War I was a global conflict originating in Europe that lasted from July 28, 1914 to November 11, 1918. Contemporaneously described as the “war to end all wars”, it led to the mobilization of more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, making it one of the largest wars in history. Estimated nine million combatants and seven million civilians died as a direct result of the war, while it is also considered a contributory factor in a number of genocides.
The Armenian Genocide was the Ottoman government’s (current Turkey) systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenians, mostly citizens within the Ottoman Empire. The starting date is conventionally held to be April 24, 1915, the day on which Ottoman authorities rounded up, arrested, and deported from Constantinople (now Istanbul) to the region of Ankara 235 to 270 Armenian intellectuals and community leaders, the majority of whom were eventually murdered. The genocide was carried out during and after World War I.
