Washington briefing: Sen. Menendez blasts Armenia-Turkey protocols

by Emil Sanamyan

Published: Friday October 09, 2009

Sen. Bob Menendez. Senator’s office.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D.-N.J.), a leading Senate voice on Armenian issues, described elements of the proposed Armenia-Turkey protocols as "frankly absurd" and an "insult to the Armenian people."

The senator was speaking at an annual banquet held in support of Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The New York event was held just hours after the Armenian president began a meeting with representatives of eastern U.S. and Canadian Armenian communities on October 3.

Mr. Menendez argued, "the time has come for Armenia and Turkey to have full diplomatic and economic relations but without preconditions," according to a video made available by the ANCA. He went on to argue that some of the passages in the protocols, particularly on a proposed intergovernmental sub-commission that would discuss a "historical dimension" of Armenian-Turkish relations, raised "real concerns."

"I do not think that Armenia should be pressured into anything that is not in their national interests or in the long-term national interests of the United States," Mr. Menendez stressed.

"It is time that Turkey recognizes [the Armenian Genocide] and accepts it. It is time that the world acknowledges this fact of history and moves on toward a viable peace that honors the true history of the Armenian people."

An influential member of Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr. Menendez was last November named chair of Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), to coordinate Democratic Party campaigns for the Senate in the 2010 elections.