New Armenian Patriarch of Istanbul Condemns US Senate Resolution on Genocide

Baku / 15.12.19 / Turan: The newly elected Patriarch of the Istanbul Diocese of the Armenian Church, Bishop Sahak Mashalyan, opposed the resolution adopted on December 12 by the US Senate on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire

In an interview with Sabah, Mashalyan said that "the suffering of the Armenians 100 years ago" has become an instrument of economic and political pressure on Turkey.

"We do not want the parliaments of different countries talking about the problem, but the people who live on this land. We want to improve relations between Armenia and Turkey. However, instead, third countries across the ocean speak about our problems," Mashalyan said.

He called "immoral" the attempt to "put pressure on Turkey using the Armenian question."

He advocated the creation of a joint commission of historians, which should evaluate the events of 1915.

"The Armenian community is integrated into the life of Turkey. We have a common destiny. We forgot what happened 100 years ago. We decided to live in this country. This is what separates us from the Diaspora and Armenia. We survived the trauma of 1915 and somehow healed it by staying in this country," Mashalyan emphasized.

This statement of the new Patriarch caused disappointment in Armenia and in the Armenian diaspora, which could not drag a religious figure from outside Turkey to the post of Istanbul Patriarch.  -02D-