Antranig: "Turco, are you by any chance a catholic from texas?" LOL, no. I am from Turkey, an atheist by the way.

The talk about 'returning lands' only brings up the potential of future wars. Those on BOTH SIDES who bring it up do so only for chest beating. Turco, are you by any chance a catholic from texas?

Armenians and Turks have a lot in common as neighbors! I think many Turks are ready for genocide recognition and that number is increasing. Most Armenians in Ottoman empire were not intersted in rebellion and there were terrible massacres as Greeks and Bulgarians separated. Territory is a sensitive question. Many Turks believe that if it wasn't for Mustafa Kemal half of Turkey today would be in hands of, Greeks, Kurds and Armenians (and maybe French, Italians) Yes there were massacres as Turkey attacked Armenia in 1920. Why did the Armenian government not fight - I think Armenian army was 30,000 strong? Maybe Kemal attacked to stop Treaty of Sevres ? What was the purpose of Sevres if no-one would implement it, other than serving to provoke Turkey and put Armenians to sleep?

While the Armenian genocide of 1915-23 was on-going throughout the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk picked up where the Young Turks left off, and invaded the fledgling Armenian republic (1918-20) – then recognized by US, UK, France, and Japan – annexing by way of genocide, half of that republic’s territory, depriving it access from the strategic black sea, Mt. Ararat, Ani, Kars, and other lands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Holy Quran states that stealing someone else property is considered “haram”. That is to enjoy the fruits of someone else’s property, houses, farms, schools, lands, and so forth, by way of genocide is not blessed and those who indulge in the “haram” are cursed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . So, the right thing for Turkey to do is to return the Armenian lands (territories of the first Armenian republic that Mustafa Kemal illegally took) to its legal and rightful owners. The Turkish know that Ararat, Kars, Ani, Ardahan, Igdir, Erzurum, Hopa are not Turkish and do not rightfully belong to Turkey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . And like all nationalities that were brutalized and ruled under the bloody Ottoman Empire, every one of them revolted against the Empire and sough their independence one after the other; the Greeks revolted, the Bulgarians revolted, Romanians, Slavs, Serbs, Croats, Albanians, Lebanese, Syrians, and the rest of the Arab world all revolted, and even the "Young Turks" revolted against the Sultan and the Ottoman Empire. Why shouldn't have the Armenians revolted? .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. As for "reconciliation", with all due respect Armenians are not related to Turks, neither do we belong to the same family. So, what is there to reconcile? We certainly look forward to have an amicable neighborly relationship; but first Turkey needs to cease legitimizing the racist ideology that led to the Turkish crime of genocide; acknowledge the genocide with accountability. The message is genocide acknowledgment with Accountability: Land, Reparation, and Restitution.

You are one of the very few Armenians who can honestly admit the facts. Yes it is not right to raise territorial issues for neither Turks nor Armenians.

Turco you are probably right that in Russian Kars oblast Armenians were not a majority, but in 1914 Kars was not inside Ottoman empire. But anyway I think it is better not to raise territorial issues for sake of better relations between Armenia and Turkey. And when Russian forces took Yerevan and Nakhichevan districts in 1828 again Armenians were not a majority - Actually Yerevan, just a village. If we go back 200 years 200,000 Armenians deported from region around Mt Ararat and Nakhichevan under Shah Abbas to Iran. So Armenian population lost majority status

Thank you Arevelk? You are right about Cilicia. But my point is that territorial claims on this question cannot solve anything. It is simply the reflection of vengeful feelings. Thje simple fact is that Armenians were a tiny majority in Kars Oblast (which was ruled by Russians from 1877 to 1919). Armenians were 21,5% of Kars's population according to Russian figures. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kars_Oblast I am not happy that I have to share these links showing the numbers of ethnicities. Even if there is a single Armenian family living in a village of Van, it is simply their homeland. This also applies to Turks and Azeris, who live here for 1000 years. Armenian citizens are fooled and misleaded that Blue Mosque was a persian mosque. It is an Turkish Mosque in fact. How many Armenians know that Armenians were a tiny minority in Yerevan in the beginning of the 19th century? Thousands of Turkish names (including the Lake Gokcha, which was converted to Lake Sevan). I admit the facts, and that the Armenians were slaugthered, but I will keep talking about the other facts too. Noone can escape from the facts. We need more dialog, without hatred.

I would make a correction to Turco to say that until 1375 (not 1071) there was an Armenian state in Anatolia (in Cilicia/Cukurova). Yes no Armenian sovereignty until 1918. Armenian republic 1918-1920 based on "Russian Armenia" -- like Kars, Igdir and Ani, but Kars/Sarikamis/Ardahan not always controlled by Armenian government. The size of Armenian territory depending on what the British military in Tiflis(Tbilisi) wanted for Armenia to be! Treaty of Sevres gave Armenia more lands, but who was prepared to enforce it? Not the British in Tiflis! How much were Armenians prepared to sacrifice themselves for Armenian lands in 1375? And in 1600? and 1700 and in 1918 and in 1920? It is easy to blame foreigners!

Armenians did not lose territory neither in 1915 nor 1895. Armenians lost territories in 1071. If you think honesty is important, you have to admit it. Of course it is unrealistic to claim Turkey's territories. Armenians should be paid back their properties which they lost in 1915. They should be able to come back here to live as Turkish citizens. They were citizens of Turkey before 1915. If somebody claims the territories which they lost 1000 years ago in a war between Byzantium and Seljukis, this "smart" guy has to be sure that his claims have no relation to justice and international law. There shouldnt be any dialog with these ultra-nationalist Armenians.

Most Armenians will never relinquish land claims; Armenians are not in a position to demand land now; however, those land claims will remain until the appropriate time. Turkey's acquisition of lands by genocide is illegal and is in violation of international law. Turkey knows it and the sinister British government know it very well. Had it not been for the sinister interventions of the British government in the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian provinces since 1877, the Armenians would have been alive and well today in Western Armenia. The actions of the British government led inevitably to the terrible massacres of 1895-7, 1909 and worst of all the holocaust of 1915. (David Lloyd George, British Prime Minister.) Dr. C.A. Gates, member of the British Foreign office noted that it was quite impossible to prevent massacres in Armenia except by the occupation of the Armenian provinces by Russian troops, which the British government was totally opposed. The sinister British activities continue to this day with British Petroleum desires to penetrate Armenia to access central Asian oil & gas fields.

DO YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT TURKEY WILL GIVE A PART OF HIS TERRITORY TO THE ARMENIANS? THIS IS NOT VERY REALISTIC. ANYBODY WHO KNOWS TURKS AND TURKISH MENTALITY WOULD KNOW THAT THIS IS NOT SOMETHING WHICH IS POSSIBLE, AND HOW IMPORTANT THE INTEGRITY OF TURKISH TERRITORY IS.

As of today, it's more likely we see Turkey recognizing the Armenian Genocide and Azerbaijan recognizing NKR, before being able to make any territorial claims on Turkey and go successfully. One of the main reasons, if not the main, that Turkey fears a serious worldwide recognition of the Genocide is because they would be pressed by us and others to make land compensations to Armenia, at least as far as giving us Kars, Igdir and Ardahan as territory of former Armenia oblast and the territory of former DRA, and as we all know those lands are of strategical importance to Turkey. Even if we want to acknowledge it or not, those treaties have been recognized and put into function a long time ago and nothing will change them, and for the sake of peace and stability we should not bring this issue to the table, YET. A time will come when Turkey will be forced, either by pressure or good will, to make a compensation to us in territorial terms, we will get at least a bit of our lands back, I'm pretty sure of that...but that needs time, and Turkey needs to go a serious transformation in every single term in order to do that...but things changes, and everything will change, it just will take a long long time.

Is it not also important to mention that the last treaty signed between independent Turkish and independent Armenian governments was in 1920 with the Treaty of Sevres? This treaty would give part of the lands Armenians lived on in the Ottoman Empire before the Armenian Genocide back to Armenians.