Normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations unlikely in near future

April 9, 2008 - 15:43 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations is hardly possibly during Serzh Sargsyan's presidency, a Russian expert said.



"Armenia's new President will never agree to Ankara's ultimatums," said Mikhail Alexandrov, head of the Caucasus Department at Russia's CIS Institute.



"I do not think that Armenia should feel Turkey's tough position keenly. It can develop the economy by means of strengthening cooperation with other countries in the region," he said, reminding about Turkey intention "to open the border and establish diplomatic relations only after withdrawal of Armenian forces from the Azeri territories," Strana.ru reports.



There are currently no formal diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey, which demands to stop the process of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during the WWI when some 1.5 million of Armenians were slaughtered.



Turkey has also taken a pro-Azeri position on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and has kept the Armenian border closed since 1993.
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