ESTABLISHMENT OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS HARDLY POSSIBLE IN NEAR FUTURE
PanARMENIAN.Net
17.10.2006 15:46 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Establishment of Armenian-Turkish relations hardly
possible in near future, analyst of Spectrum Center for Strategic
Analysis Sergey Sargsyan told PanARMENIAN.Net. In his words, Turkish
foreign policy is rising currently. "It became activated in the
Middle East, as illustrated by the participation of Turkish military
in the peacekeeping contingent in Lebanon. Turkey became more active
in the South Caucasus: its projects of breaking a Turkic corridor via
Georgia to Azerbaijan and father to Turkic republics of the Central
Asia is realistic as never.
Specifically owing to Georgia needing allies due to the confrontation
with Russia. I believe that the "European project", which is actively
lobbied by Islamic-leaning Party of Justice and Development, is
a clearly calculated move, aimed at reviewing basic principles of
Turkey as a secular state, not at its accession to the EU," the
Armenian analyst said.
The military who were considered to preserve the legacy of Kemal
Ataturk, secular nature of the country and close integration of Turkey
with the West, were deprived of influence on political decision-making
resulting to reforms at the demand of the EU, Sargsyan remarked. "This
strengthened the position of the Justice and Development Party and
allowed the Islamist party changing the foreign and internal policy
of Turkey. The growth of nationalist and Islamist moods in Turkey and
Europeans’ apprehensions for the future of the EU in case of Turkey’s
accession are the outcome. As a result Turkey will probably be left
out of the EU, positions of guarantors of Turkey being secular – the
military – are undermined. Thus, Islam-leaning forces by pro-European
policy can attain what they could not during their attempts of direct
Islamization of the country during Erbakan being the Premier. Thus,
against the background of on the whole successful internal and foreign
policy, withdrawal of "the Armenian block" of issues as compulsory
preconditions of Turkey’s accession to the EU, it is more advantageous
for the ruling JDP to abide by its earlier position, i.e. linking
establishment of Turkish-Armenian relations with settlement of the
Nagorno Karabakh conflict at terms favorable to Azerbaijan and thus
to a further prospect," Sergey Sargsyan said.