AZERBAIJAN CREATES IN TURKEY STRONG LOBBY WHICH ACTS AGAINST OPENING OF BORDER WITH ARMENIA, TURK BUSINESSMAN STATES

Noyan Tapan
Jan 16 2007

YEREVAN, JANUARY 16, NOYAN TAPAN. "The Governments of Armenia
and Turkey must form a working group to discuss all the problems
existing between the two countries." Kaan Soyak, the Co-Chairman of
the Armenian-Turkish Council on development of business understakings,
stated about it at the January 15 press conference.

According to his estimation, the possibility of creation of a similar
group is realistic. "I do not think that the Armenian Government will
be against creation of a similar group. The Turkish side understands
all these in another way. First of all, the problem is absence of
confidence between the sides.

When one side proposes anything, the other side relates to it with
distrust and thinks that some other meaning is hiden under it,"
the Turk entrepreneur mentioned. He expressed a hope that the
Turkish Government will reach the conclusion that creation of a
non-governmental working group is a necessity.

In K.Soyak’s words, his friends from the Turkish Foreign Ministry do
not believe that close borders can support solution of the existing
problems. "Which is the goal of opening of the land border? It is a
panishment for East Anatolia, isn’t it. I am quite against the close
borders between Turkey and Armenia," K.Soyak stated.

In his words, the main problem is that Azerbaijan created a strong
lobby in Turkey which acts against opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border, and the Turkish policy is under the Azerbaijani influence today
which has spent great financial resources during the recent years for
"keeping of its ideas" in Turkey.