The process for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide was started by the first President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan and was ended by the "football diplomacy" initiated by current President Serzh Sargsyan, the head of the parliamentary group of the Armenian National Congress Levon Zurabyan told journalists on Thursday.
"The protocols signed with Turkey in Zurich questioned the very fact of the Armenian Genocide. Sargsyan hoped that Turkey would open its border with Armenia, but the Turks befooled him. They first feigned a wish to normalize relations with us so as to put an end to our efforts to make the Armenian Genocide recognized in the world and then stalemated the dialogue by linking it with the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process," Zurabyan said, noting that in fact the "football diplomacy" has helped Sargsyan to strengthen his positions.