ARMENIA SHOULD BE READY FOR POSSIBLE OPENING OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH
BORDER

Yerevan, January 13. ArmInfo. Armenia should be ready for the possible
opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, the member of the ARF
Dashnaktsoutyun party Kiro Manoyan said during the international
scientific conference on the opening the Armenian-Turkish border. The
event is being held in Yerevan today with the support of USAID,
Eurasia Foundation and the British Embassy in Armenia.

Manoyan said that to be ready means to study ways to prevent possible
shocks and to preserve economic growth. He noted that the conference
is a political action under a non-political cover. One can’t discuss
economic problems without considering political ones. In Manoyan’s
opinion, the content of the conference suggests that it was Armenia
who closed the border and it is Armenia who must be convinced to open
it. In reality, it is Turkey who keeps the border close and this
blockade hampers Armenia’s economic growth. Manoyan noted that the
absence of Turkish journalists proves that this event has received no
approrpiate response from the Turkish mass media.

Manoyan said that any normal country should have open borders with its
neighbors.

The conference suggests that the opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border will lead to peace and stability in the region and the border
should be opened before the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict. "Hence, the organizers of the conference hint that the
border will be opened if the conflict is resolved. This is not true,
this problem, just like economic problems, will be solved within just
two weeks after the opening of the border," Manoyan said.

Meanwhile, during a Jan 12 press-conference US Charge D’Affaires to
Armenia Anthony Godfrey pointed out that the studies carried out in
the framework of the conference reflect the views of their authors and
may not coincide with the position of the US Government.