Expert says Armenians should not worry about Russia-Turkey rapprochement
17.10.2016,
15:55
Russia’s rapprochement with Turkey should not cause panic in Armenia, the director of the Yerevan-based Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan said today.
YEREVAN, October 17. /ARKA/. Russia’s rapprochement with Turkey should not cause panic in Armenia, the director of the Yerevan-based Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan said today.
"There are various layers of interaction between Russia and Turkey. Now, they are allies when it comes to their tense relations with the West and they have to also cooperate in Syria. However, relations between Russia and Armenia and Russia and Turkey are absolutely different,’ he told a news conference.
He said the phrase "Russian-Turkish" evokes strong reactions in Armenia, but Armenians should look at the events not only from their own point of view; they should also think more rationally.
"It is necessary to closely monitor the development of Russian-Turkish relations, and of course, take certain measures if they begin posing a threat to Armenia. For the time being I do not see such threats. I see neither progress in Armenia-Turkey relations," - Iskandaryan said.
According to Iskandaryan, no one is interested in the destabilization of the South Caucasus today.
"Russia and Turkey are reluctant to focus now on the Karabakh conflict, as they have much more important issues to discuss," he said.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since Armenia became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its ally, Azerbaijan, which had a dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the ethnic Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan.
There are several sensitive issues complicating the establishment of normal relations between the two countries, particularly Ankara’s blatant support of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process and Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge the mass killings of Armenians the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
The thaw in relations between the two countries began in 2008 at the Armenian president's initiative. In 2009 October 10 Armenia and Turkey signed "Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations" and "Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations" in Zurich which were to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
However, on 22 April 2010, the President of Armenia signed a decree suspending the ratification of the protocols, stating that Turkey was not ready to continue the process. -0-
"There are various layers of interaction between Russia and Turkey. Now, they are allies when it comes to their tense relations with the West and they have to also cooperate in Syria. However, relations between Russia and Armenia and Russia and Turkey are absolutely different,’ he told a news conference.
He said the phrase "Russian-Turkish" evokes strong reactions in Armenia, but Armenians should look at the events not only from their own point of view; they should also think more rationally.
"It is necessary to closely monitor the development of Russian-Turkish relations, and of course, take certain measures if they begin posing a threat to Armenia. For the time being I do not see such threats. I see neither progress in Armenia-Turkey relations," - Iskandaryan said.
According to Iskandaryan, no one is interested in the destabilization of the South Caucasus today.
"Russia and Turkey are reluctant to focus now on the Karabakh conflict, as they have much more important issues to discuss," he said.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since Armenia became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its ally, Azerbaijan, which had a dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the ethnic Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan.
There are several sensitive issues complicating the establishment of normal relations between the two countries, particularly Ankara’s blatant support of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process and Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge the mass killings of Armenians the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
The thaw in relations between the two countries began in 2008 at the Armenian president's initiative. In 2009 October 10 Armenia and Turkey signed "Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations" and "Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations" in Zurich which were to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
However, on 22 April 2010, the President of Armenia signed a decree suspending the ratification of the protocols, stating that Turkey was not ready to continue the process. -0-
