NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS UNLIKELY IN NEAR FUTURE

PanARMENIAN.Net
09.04.2008 14:43 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations
is hardly possibly during Serzh Sargsyan’s presidency, a Russian
expert said.

"Armenia’s new President will never agree to Ankara’s ultimatums,"
said Mikhail Alexandrov, head of the Caucasus Department at Russia’s
CIS Institute.

"I do not think that Armenia should feel Turkey’s tough position
keenly. It can develop the economy by means of strengthening
cooperation with other countries in the region," he said, reminding
about Turkey intention "to open the border and establish diplomatic
relations only after withdrawal of Armenian forces from the Azeri
territories," Strana.ru reports.

There are currently no formal diplomatic relations between Armenia and
Turkey, which demands to stop the process of international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire during
the WWI when some 1.5 million of Armenians were slaughtered.

Turkey has also taken a pro-Azeri position on the Nagorno Karabakh
conflict and has kept the Armenian border closed since 1993.