The Turkish Foreign Ministery said that "the primary duty of statesmen must be to prepare their societies, particularly youth, for a peaceful and prosperous future".
However Armenian sources claim that the President's quote was taken out of context.
Mediamax reports that asked by a student on July 23 at All-Armenian Olympiad on Armenian Language, Literature and Armenian Studies “what future awaits us - one resembling the Batumi treaty or one that will be able to get back Western Armenia together with Mount Ararat,” Sargsian said:
“Everything depends on you and your generation. I think my generation has fulfilled its task: in early 90s it defended one of the parts of our motherland- Karabakh. And I am saying this not for the sake of reproaching anyone. Every generation has its tasks and every generation should fulfill them properly. If you and your friends spare no effort, if your elder and younger friends follow our example, we will have the best country in the world. Believe me, in many cases the weight of the country is determined not by its size: the country should be modern, secure and prosperous- these are the conditions which allow any nation communicate on equal terms with big powers. We all should fulfill our duty by being active and hard-working. We can have all this, since we have achieved it many times throughout our history. I never doubt it and I want you to never doubt it either. Our nation has risen like Phoenix from ashes for many times."
source commonspace.eu newsroom with reports from Today's Zaman and Mediamax
photo: courtesy of the Press Service of the president of Armenia
