Armenian-Turkish reconciliation entails new challenges

PanARMENIAN.Net - During Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Armenia, special accent was shifted on the issue of Karabakh conflict settlement and Armenian-Turkish rapprochement being separate processes, said Alexander Skakov, expert at Russian Institute of Strategic Research.



Armenian-Turkish rapprochement entails new challenges for countries in the region, he told a TV bridge devoted to "Armenian-Russian relations: summing up the visits of Russian FM Sergey Lavrov's visit to Yerevan".



According to Russian expert, the normalization of RA-Turkish ties will call into question Russia's military presence in Armenia, essentially weakening Georgia's transit potentials.



With regard to Turkey and Azerbaijan, Mr. Skakov believes Ankara will try to maintain warm relations with Baku, while taking real steps in another direction.



The Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by Azerbaijan in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.



The protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.



On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country's Organic Law.



The 102nd Russian military base is part of the Transcaucasian Group of Forces, located in Gyumri (Armenia), 12. km. north of Yerevan. It was established in 1995 one the basis of Transcaucsaian Front, and carries out duty services in the frameworks of the united antiaircraft system.