Alexandros Peterson: Turkey serious about opening border with Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Azerbaijan was shocked by Russia's actions in Georgia and decided to change the route for its oil and gas, a U.S. expert said.



"A decision to develop east-west pipelines was taken. Some of them will go through Novorossiysk, some through Iran. Heydar Aliyev has once persuaded Turkey, Georgia and the United States to develop such an oil pipeline," said Alexandros Peterson, southeast Europe scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre.



"Azerbaijan is facing a presidential election. It's disappointed with the fruitless Minsk process. Moreover, the Russian invasion in Georgia proved unpredictability of the region and Baku's policy grew more unpredictable," he said.



Turkey and Azerbaijan are west-oriented, according to him. "Nabucco gas pipeline one of the most important aspects. Meanwhile, mostly guided by Russian interests, Armenia just watches the process, its best friends being Russia and Iran. Nagorno Karabakh also remains a problem. Armenia tries to preserve the status quo; Azerbaijan doesn't exclude the possibility to resolve the conflict by use of force," he said.



At that, he noted that Turkey's importance should not be neglected. "Gul's visit to Yerevan was symbolic. Turkey is serious about opening the border with Armenia. The initiative to mediate between Yerevan and Baku for resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict is an advance," Petersen said, Interfax reports.