Dashnak NA deputy Armen Rustamyan believes that the speeches made at the discussion over the Resolution on the Armenian Genocide held by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee are “an important lesson,” and Armenian deputies must draw a conclusion and later “to abstain from the ratification process.”

On March 4 (Thursday) the US House of Foreign Affairs Committee with 23 votes for and 22 against affirmed the H.Res.252 concerning the Armenian Genocide. Such a resolution was adopted three times by the same committee: the last one was on January 30, 2007 (27 votes for and 21 against), however, later the George Bush administration put a veto on the entire voting of the resolution at the US House and Senate.

Rustamyan, Chairman of RA Parliament’s Standing Committee on Foreign Relations, says that the adoption of the resolution was expected.

“However, the number of ‘yes’ votes was much higher before the arrival of the Turkish delegation,” Rustamyan adds.

According to the NA deputy, the number of ‘yes’ votes was higher during recent years, too, and the only arguments for refusal were “the ill-fated protocols and the desire not to hinder the relations regulation process, and this must be a lesson for our deputies,” Rustamyan stresses, believing that the adoption of the resolution is “the first essential success for Armenia on the background of the Armenian-Turkish protocols.”

Rustamyan cannot foresee, however, what lessons the National Assembly of Armenia will learn from the adoption of the resolution, but he is sure that “the deputies will be impressed.”

“First of all, I doubt that everybody (all NA deputies) watched it (the broadcast of the resolution discussion and voting), and felt the dramatics. If they did not watch it, then it will be very hard to involve them into the atmosphere, but I believe they will understand that corrective steps are necessary. If Turks say that it will affect the ratification of the protocols on their part, then why shouldn’t it affect us?” Rustamyan asks.

Meanwhile, Stepan Safaryan, head of the opposition Heritage faction, doubts that the resolution will make changes.

“Just the opposite, I am concerned that under these pressures they (Armenian NA deputies) may give up and ratify the protocols before Turkey does it,” Safaryan told ArmeniaNow.