THE ARMENIAN POLICY OF TURKEY REFLECTS ON ITS SOUTH-CAUCASIAN POLICY
By Hakob Chakrian

AZG Armenian Daily
28/09/2007

However, the position of Armenia remains unalterable

When meeting the new Russian Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov RA Prime
Minister Serge Sargsian touched upon the issue of Armenian-Turkish
relations as well at a joint press conference on September 25,
in Moscow.

He once more laid stress on Armenia’s readiness to establish diplomatic
relations with Turkey without preconditions. "Turkey is the side that
sets conditions. However, it is aspired to join the European family and
is expecting a long process", added RA Prime Minister Serge Sargsian,
according to "Republic of Armenia" daily.

"CNN-Turk" was totally concentrated on September 25-press conference:
on Armenian-Turkish relations.

"It will be unusual for Europeans to involve this country into the
Union’s membership, as it sometimes contradict the EU principles. What
about the Armenian-Turkish relations, the ball is with them,
and nothing depends on us", mentioned Serge Sargsian according to
"CNN-Turk".

At the end "CNN-Turk" mentions: "RA President Robert Kocharian’s
companion Serge Sargsian is supposed to announce his candidacy in
the coming presidential elections." In this case the task of the
above-mentioned information service is not the candidacy of Serge
Sargsian, but his probability of taking up the president’s post after
Robert Kocharian.

It’s evident that in that case nowadays Turkish policy on Armenia
will continue.

It will bring to the giving up of Turkish position on Armenian policy,
as it strains Turkey’s relations with the third countries. Moreover,
the closed Armenian border and the blockade make higher the pressure
of USA and EU. And it will put an end to the South-Caucasian policy
of the Republic of Turkey.

Why? – Though Turkey has agreements of cooperation in the military
sphere with Georgia and Azerbaijan, it hasn’t succeeded in having
influences on Georgia and Azerbaijan, as in Georgia the USA established
its military presence, and Azerbaijan is involved in Russian-American
irreconcilable struggle for influence.

If to add all of these to the exhaustion of Armenian policy of Turkey,
it will not be difficult to guess the inevitability of its exclusion
from South Caucasus.

So, the Turkey’s policy on Armenia reflects negatively not so much on
Armenia, but on South-Caucasian policy of Turkey, but South-Caucasus
is a bridgehead to pierce through Middle Asia.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress