Turkey keeps Armenia's border close not to trouble Azerbaijan
There have been no relations between Armenia and Turkey for 16 years already. Although Turkey recognized Armenia's independence in 1991, RA Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian said in the Russian-Armenian (Slavonic) University.
"Turkey still imposes preconditions on Armenia. The first is the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Turkey thinks that Armenia should yield the territories of Karabakh's security belt to Azerbaijan. However, Ankara forgets that Turkey is a member of the OSCE and UN and is obliged to maintain equal relations with all states of the region and thus promote peace and economic cooperation," Mr Kirakossian noted.
With open Armenian-Turkish border, Armenia's economy will rapidly develop and it will be hard for Azerbaijan to negotiate with strong Armenia, according to him.
"The second precondition is the Armenian Genocide issue. Armenia can't but press for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide; it's a historical fact. As result, two thirds of the Armenian nation live in Diaspora. We have numerously stated that we do not set preconditions and are ready to sign an agreement with Turkey," he said.
Mr Kirakossian noted that during the recent years Armenia and Turkey exercised contacts at the ministerial level. He also reminded of PM Erdogan's letter to RA President Robert Kocharian with proposal to form a commission of historians for examining the fact of Genocide.
"At that time the Armenian President proposed to resolve political issues via formation of an intergovernmental commission which will be dealing with the whole scope of the Armenian-Turkish relations. However, no response ahs come from Turkey yet. We have informal contacts. There is a trade balance totaling some $100 million, 4 flights in Istanbul, bus routes," Mr Kirakossian said.
Nevertheless, closed border has a very negative impact on the region. Armenia loses some $300-400 million annually because Turkish goods are imported via a third state, Georgia for example.
"Turkey still imposes preconditions on Armenia. The first is the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Turkey thinks that Armenia should yield the territories of Karabakh's security belt to Azerbaijan. However, Ankara forgets that Turkey is a member of the OSCE and UN and is obliged to maintain equal relations with all states of the region and thus promote peace and economic cooperation," Mr Kirakossian noted.
With open Armenian-Turkish border, Armenia's economy will rapidly develop and it will be hard for Azerbaijan to negotiate with strong Armenia, according to him.
"The second precondition is the Armenian Genocide issue. Armenia can't but press for international recognition of the Armenian Genocide; it's a historical fact. As result, two thirds of the Armenian nation live in Diaspora. We have numerously stated that we do not set preconditions and are ready to sign an agreement with Turkey," he said.
Mr Kirakossian noted that during the recent years Armenia and Turkey exercised contacts at the ministerial level. He also reminded of PM Erdogan's letter to RA President Robert Kocharian with proposal to form a commission of historians for examining the fact of Genocide.
"At that time the Armenian President proposed to resolve political issues via formation of an intergovernmental commission which will be dealing with the whole scope of the Armenian-Turkish relations. However, no response ahs come from Turkey yet. We have informal contacts. There is a trade balance totaling some $100 million, 4 flights in Istanbul, bus routes," Mr Kirakossian said.
Nevertheless, closed border has a very negative impact on the region. Armenia loses some $300-400 million annually because Turkish goods are imported via a third state, Georgia for example.
