Turkey aims to strengthen its positions in South Caucasus through Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - It's wrong to link the entire Armenian-Turkish process with the issue whether or not Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will leave for Turkey to watch return football match, RA NAS Oriental Studies Institute Director, Turkish studies specialist Ruben Safrsastyan told a news conference in Yerevan. "I think Turkish side has already made a decision to at least open the border. By signing the "road map", Ankara proved it has refused its previous policy in relation to Armenia," the speaker noted.



Following the August war, Turkey weakened its positions in the region, while Moscow strengthened its influence, Safrastyan finds. "And now, Turkey aims to strengthen its positions in South Caucasus through Armenia. But in the meantime, Turkish diplomacy resorts to different methods to impose concessions on Yerevan in Karabakh conflict settlement and Armenian Genocide recognition processes," Professor noted.



In that regard, he found Armenian President's recent statement too abrupt. "I don't think Turks will immediately agree to open border," he said.