Controversial remarks by Armenian President Serz Sarksyan raised doubts as to Armenia's commitment to the process of normalization between the two countries and sparked criticism from Turkey.
President Sarksyan's controversial remarks were made during the 5th Pan-Armenian Olympiad in response to a question whether "Western Armenia" - a belligerent term used by Armenians for the eastern region of Turkey - would ever be united with the rest of Armenia. President Sarksyan replied that his generation fulfilled "its duty" of adding Nagorno-Karabakh to "Artsak" - the mythological term for "Greater Armenia" - and that adding "Western Armenia" was the task of the younger generation. Nagorno-Karabakh, a region of Azerbaijan, has been under illegal Armenian occupation for nearly two decades despite numerous UN Security Council Resolutions calling for an end to the occupation. The Armenian President's belligerent remarks against Turkey received a strong condemnation from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who urged Sarksyan to apologize for “calling on Armenian youth to occupy eastern Turkey.” Erdogan said that Sarksyan's words were highly provocative and designed to instill Armenia's youth with hate and hostility.
In stark contrast to the Armenian side, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met on two occasions with representatives of Armenian organizations in the past month, who had been invited to Turkey as part of civil society efforts between the two countries. During the last meeting, Minister Davutoglu reportedly noted that he regards the Armenian diaspora as "our diaspora." On numerous occasions, the Turkish Foreign Minister has stated his support for "normalization" of relations between Turkey and Armenia that will pave the way to achieve a "just memory" concerning Ottoman-Armenian history.
