Historian: Recognition of the Armenian Genocide without compensation is not worth a bean

The world Armenians seek historical justice, but their strategy needs
fundamental revision, Ashot Melkonyan, Director of the History Institute,
National Academy of Science of Armenia, said at a seminar-discussion at the
Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS), Tuesday.

"In far 1965, Khrushchev's Thaw gave
us an opportunity to demand Turkey to recognize the Genocide fact with all its
consequences, condemnation and compensation, in terms of lands, of course.
However, the chain of recognitions of that fact by the leading countries
encouraged us too much and we occurred in a trap prepared by Turkey through
involvement of the Armenians worldwide into the process of international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. In 1998, Armenia declared the
international recognition of the Genocide as part of its foreign policy. Turkey
immediately responded by offering 'discussion of the common problem,'"
Melkonyan said.

Meanwhile, he said, those discussions
torpedoed the process of the international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. No country recognized the Armenian Genocide within the three years of
discussions. The countries that had mulled recognition of the Genocide simply
stopped the process not to interfere into the 'negotiations of Armenia and
Turkey.' Only after those useless 'discussions' were suspended, Switzerland
immediately recognized the Armenian Genocide at the legislative level.

The centennial of the Armenian Genocide in
Western Armenia in 1915-1923 that claimed the lives of 1.5 million of Armenians
will be marked in 2015. Ankara still denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide,
meanwhile, 44 out of 51 States of America have recognized the Armenian Genocide
along with other 24 countries that have recognized it at different levels.

To recall, Armenia and Turkey lack
diplomatic relations and the 330 km border between the two countries has been
closed since 1993 on Ankara's initiative. The complicated relations between the
counties are explained by the fact that Turkey supports Azerbaijani stance on
the Karabakh problem and vehemently reacts to the process of international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide 1915.