The Lithuanian President gave an interview to Delfi’s reporter Vladimiras Laučius during which he touched upon the NATO-Turkey, Turkey-EU relations along with other issues.
ARMENPRESS presents the respective part of the interview:
Vladimiras Laučius: You emphasize common values as a fundament of the “friendship alliances”. But what do you think about Turkey? Erdogan openly threatens Europe, urges the Turks to have multiple children so that they become the “future of Europe”; his army attacks Kurds, the allies of other NATO countries; Turkey is subjected to Islamization, it rapidly moves away from the values that NATO was founded to preserve for. Does the West go along with “this” Turkey - bearing in mind Russia’s value-alienation from the West?
Gitanas Nausėda: It’s a very difficult question. In fact, Turkey is changing. We see rather aggressive actions destabilizing the region. And in this regard, the question is whether the West will achieve any positive result by moving away from Turkey or taking any decision on it or its NATO membership? The question is, will this bring more peace to the region and to the world in general?
However, Turkey's role in the region, both in terms of refugees and in terms of military strength, remains crucial. And perhaps at this point it is necessary to openly refer to the problems that Turkey is raising, but at the same time to monitor the situation and draw conclusions as to what could happen in the future without taking any radical decisions. Because the role of Turkey remains very important due to the circumstances that I’ve mentioned.
Vladimiras Laučius: Turkey is a NATO country that committed Armenian Genocide, which, moreover, has been recognized by Lithuania and, more recently, by the US House of Representatives. Turkey does not recognize the fact of Genocide. Can you imagine a situation, where a state that does not recognize Holocaust is a NATO member?
Gitanas Nausėda: No, I can’t. But, nevertheless, on this issue [the recognition of Armenian genocide] I still think that it is a matter of time and one day it will happen. Maybe it won’t happen very soon. However, it is difficult to expect this to happen in the next five or ten years. But I think, that as it is a fact, one way or another it will be recognized.
https://www.delfi.lt/news/daily/lithuania/prezidentas-nauseda-turiu-atsakyma-i-klausima-del-valdanciosios-daugumos-busimame-seime.d?id=82788831
Following the interview journalist Vladimiras Laučius published an article in the Delfi relating to the denial of the Armenian Genocide by Turkey, human rights violations in Turkey and many other issues.
Vladimiras Laučius on the genocide executors’ membership in NATO
It would be impossible to imagine Germany being a part of NATO if it had not recognized Nazi crimes, including Holocaust. However, Turkey, which is not going to admit to having committed genocides against Christian nations - Armenians, Assyrians and Greeks - is a NATO member.
The preamble to the North Atlantic Treaty states that the parties to the Treaty “are determined to safeguard the freedom, common heritage and civilization of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and the rule of law”.
Which of the above mentioned principles does Turkey preserve? Does it succeed? How it is possible to preserve the civilization to which it does not belong or to safeguard principles that are hardly followed in the country?
If all you need to be a NATO member is simply having a strong army, a semblance of democracy and some common interests with Western countries, then how come Russia is still not a part of NATO?
One may say, that Russia violates the principles of inviolability in South Ossetia and Ukraine. However, for the NATO countries, this seems to be no longer an insurmountable moral and legal issue after the 1974, when Turkish troops occupied Northern Cyprus.
Now Turkey is also occupying as much of Syria’s territory as possible a, amicably negotiating with Russia for patrol zones as well.
How about the issue of armament and military compatibility? After Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 missile systems and considering of buying Russian Su-57 fighter jets, it no longer seems to be a major obstacle to Russia's integration into NATO. It is obvious, that the indirect integration carried out through the armaments and the Turks is already underway.
Russian authorities do not recognize Soviet crimes and justify Stalin's atrocities? Turkey does absolutely the same not admitting for having planned and committed Armenian (Medz Yeghern), Assyrian (Seyfo) and Greek (Megali Catastrophi) genocides - mass killings, torture and desert exiles.
Moreover, Turkish law allows to prosecute people affirming the genocides executed by Turks claiming it insults Turkish people. This is very similar to Vladimir Putin's Russian law and ideological propaganda of the history of his country.
The genocide of the Christian nations in Turkey - in terms of cruelty, extent, torture and ideological justification - is very similar to the Jewish Holocaust committed by the Nazis.
For example, Mehmed Reshid, a doctor in the Ottoman Empire, was famous for treating Armenians as second-rate people compared to, in his opinion, more advanced Muslims.
He ordered to attach horseshoes to the feet of Armenian exiles to make it more entertaining to watch them go into exile after such an execution. He also liked to crucify them, given the Armenian religion. In 1978, in Turkey, a NATO member, an encyclopedia was published which describes Mehmed Reshid as a "great patriot."
Like their future Nazi colleagues, Turkish doctors condu...
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