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Historian Hayk Demoyan, Director of the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute in Yerevan, lambasted Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan for his latest statements on the genocide recognition.

Speaking in the parliament on Thursday, Mirzoyan said pursing international recognition of the Armenian Genocide “is not a key foreign policy priority” for his ministry.

“Studying the tragic chapters in history, the Armenian Genocide, or making it a top priority is definitely not the agenda of the Foreign Ministry,” Mirzoyan told lawmakers.

In an interview with Panorama.am on Friday, Demoyan called the minister’s comments “manipulative and cheap”, accusing him of the Armenian Genocide denial criminalized in Armenia.

He stated that Mirzoyan’s remarks fed into the Turkish propaganda of the genocide denial and were aimed at pleasing Turkey.

“Ararat Mirozyan’s statements amount to yet another criminal offense, a behavior typical to many current government officials. This is called denialism,” he charged.

“Under Armenian laws, not only Ararat Mirzoyan, but also at least a dozen other senior members of the Civil Contract party must face life sentences in the near future for the Armenian Genocide denial or its promotion, as well as for their active involvement in the genocide against the Artsakh Armenians,” the historian opined.

Also, he claimed that the Armenian authorities seek to curb visits of foreign delegations to the Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute under the pretext of its renovation, thus fulfilling Turkey’s precondition.