Speech by H.E. Vardan Oskanian, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia

The following is an excerpt from the speech by H.E. Vardan Oskanian at the Royal Conservatory of Belgium on 25 April 2007.

"Armenians were one of the largest minorities of the Ottoman Empire. Where did they go? Is it possible that all our grandmothers and grandfathers colluded and created stories? Where are the descendants of the Armenians who built the hundreds of churches and monasteries whose ruins still stand today? What kind of open and honest discussion is possible with a government that loudly and proudly announces its renovation of the medieval Armenian jewel of a church, Akhtamar in Lake Van, while it carefully, consistently, removes every reference to its Armenianness from all literature and signs? What is Turkey afraid of?

It is a political reality that Armenia is not a security threat to Turkey. It is a political reality that both Turkey and Armenia exist today in the international community with their current borders.

Today, as the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia, as the grandson of genocide survivors, I can only say that Armenia and Turkey are neighbors who will remain neighbors. We share a border. We can only move forward together."