Ruben Safrastyan: football diplomacy produces results

PanARMENIAN.Net - Joint declaration of Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministries on road-map shows that football diplomacy is producing results, NAS RA Institute of Oriental Studies Director, Professor Ruben Safrastyan told PanARMENIAN.Net



"The statement does not speak of negotiation results, but I hope the progress in Armenian-Turkish relations is not achieved at expense of Armenia's national interests of," he said.



Prof. Safrastyan is not surprised that statement was made public today, a day before April 24. "It is obvious that U.S. urges Ankara to open the border and normalize relations with Armenia. Once again, it proves that good Armenian-Turkish relations are not an issue between Armenia and Turkey only, but is also an issue of geopolitical importance," he said and added that President Serzh Sargsyan's visit to Moscow is not coincidence either.



"I am confident that Sargsyan and Medvedev will dwell on Armenian-Turkish relations," Prof. Safrastyan said.



On April 22, Turkey, Armenia agreed on road-map to normalize ties. The joint statement issued by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Turkey said that Turkey and Armenia, together with Switzerland as mediator, have been working intensively with a view to normalizing their bilateral relations and developing them in a spirit of good-neighborliness, and mutual respect, and thus to promoting peace, security and stability in the whole region.



" The two parties have achieved tangible progress and mutual understanding in this process and they have agreed on a comprehensive framework for the normalization of their bilateral relations in a mutually satisfactory manner. In this context, a road-map has been identified.



This agreed basis provides a positive prospect for the on-going process," the statement said.