"TO JOIN THE EUROPEAN UNION, TURKEY MUST CURTAIL ITS MILITARY EXPENDITURES"
Panorama.am
20:38 14/08/2007
"The first victim of the Iraq war was Turkish-American relations,
as Turkey became not an ally, but a problem." This is the opinion
stated by Richard Giragosian at a press conference discussing the
current condition of American-Turkish relations. "That must be to
Turkey’s liking, yet, they know the Kurds in Iraq are close allies
with the US," he added.
One positive result of the way, he conjectured, was that if a Kurdish
state is created, this would change the direction of Turkey’s glance
in other directions.
Turkish-American relations, according to Giragosian, are "very bad"
and the recognition of the Genocide in the US will "in no way harm
US interests."
Returning to the subject of Turkey’s entry into the European Union,
Giragosian thought this would force Turkey to curtail its military
expenditures, making it less dangerous to Armenia. Yet, it could result
in Armenia being merely a bordering country of Europe. In his opinion,
the lengthening of the entry process could also strengthen the idea
of pan-Turanism, which is directly tied to the safety of Armenia.