J. Chirac: to accede the EU, Turkey has to recognize genocide of Armenians

Turkey has to acknowledge its mistakes of the past including the 1915 genocide of Armenians in order to join the European Union, President of France Jacques Chirac who is paying his state visit to Armenia stated at the press conference on Saturday, September 30, in Yerevan, the "Interfax" reports.

"I believe that in the course of its development every country should recognize its mistakes of the past, and I think Turkey has to give a serious thought to this problem," Jacques Chirac noted. "It would be nice for Turkey to acknowledge its mistakes of the past too."

According to President Chirac, Germany, for instance, by having admitted the Holocaust, lost nothing of its greatness; moreover, it has improved the trust of the nations towards itself.

"I think that joining the organization that views protection of human right among its main values should assume recognition of one's past," Mr. Chirac stated, the RIA "Novosti" reports.

The Turkish government and a number of historians refute the assertions that the mass evacuation and subsequent massacre of a million and a half of Armenians in 1915 is genocide, and state that the number of the victims is highly exaggerated.

The fact of genocide against Armenians in 1915 has been acknowledged, in particular, by the parliaments of Argentine, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, France, Greece, Holland, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay (the first country to officially recognize the Armenians' genocide back in 1965) and Venezuela.