ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER WILL REMAIN CLOSED UNTIL TURKEY’S DE JURE RECOGNITION OF REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA

PanARMENIAN.Net
13.09.2007 15:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "There is a habit to think that everything will go
well after the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border. It won’t. Open
border is just a result of normalization of the Armenia-Turkey
relations. I am confident that our Foreign Ministry has chosen
the right way. Turkey says it recognized independent Armenia in
1992. However, it was de facto recognition only," diplomat and
historian Ara Papian said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.

"We should not forget about security issues either. If the border
problem is settled in compliance with the arbitration award, Armenia
can raise the issue of demilitarization of Turkey’s near-border
provinces, what supposes presence of international observers and
exclusion of any aggression against Armenia," he continued.

"The Kars-Akhalkalaki-Baku railroad is a menace, since Turkey obtains
the possibility to supply Azerbaijan with weapons. The greater is
amount of armament in the region, the more possible is war. All
are interested in stability in the region, except for Turkey, which
hasn’t identified itself so far and is terrified by the outlook to
lose territories. The idea of territorial integrity, so artificially
cherished by the government, will sooner or later lead to decline of
the state," he said.