Can EU contribute to normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs should brisk up diplomatic steps toward Turkey, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies at the RA Academy of Sciences, Dr Ruben Safrastyan told a news conference in Yerevan.



"Armenia should establish relations with Turkey without preconditions. At the same time, recognition of the Armenian Genocide is one of priority tasks. However, we should not forget that Turkey represents a menace to Armenia's national security and the Armenian diplomacy should work for its neutralization," he said.



"The Armenian-Turkish relations can be normalized with assistance of a third party, the European Union, for example," he said. "The third party should create a basis for meetings of the Armenian and Turkish publics. I am not afraid of a dialogue, since we all know the truth. The Turkish population, on the contrary, is being misled by the government," Dr Safrastyan said, Novosti Armenia reports.



Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations. The border was closed in 1993 over Ankara's position on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.