Armenia must never renounce its territorial claims for TurkeyFebruary 24, 2009 - 17:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Official Yerevan's relationship with Ankara is one of the key directions in Armenia's foreign policy, an Armenian expert said. "Unfortunately, during past 15 years the Armenia failed to work out a specific strategy of relations with Turkey," Armen Aivazyan, Director of Ararat Center of Strategic Studies, told a news conference on Tuesday. "Turkey continues with its anti-Armenian propaganda and is waging a war against Armenia using non-traditional weapons: economic, political, moral and legislative. Meanwhile, Armenia lays one claim: opening of the border and establishment of diplomatic relations without preconditions," he said. This is a wrong approach, according to the expert. "Football diplomacy only created a background for normalization of relations with Turkey, yet Yerevan hasn't assumed any specific position on Ankara. The problems between the countries can't be resolved through meetings only," Aivazyan said. He added that up to now the football initiative of the Armenian President did not lead to any perceptible results. "Armenia must never renounce its territorial claims to Turkey," Aivazyan emphasized. As to the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, the expert noted that it could seriously harm Armenian economy which is too brittle yet to resist the deluge of Turkish goods. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |