MIKHAIL ALEXANDROV: ARMENIA HAS TO CHOOSE BETWEEN ECONOMIC BLOCKADE AND GENOCIDE RECOGNITION
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
09.09.2008 16:32 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s visit to Armenia
will promote reconciliation between the two countries, a Russian
expert said.
"Armenia faced isolation owing to Saakashvili’s irresponsible
behavior. Presently, it needs to re-build relations with Turkey and
uninterrupted corridor for cargo transportation," Mikhail Alexandrov,
Caucasus expert at the Institute of CIS Studies, told a PanARMENIAN.Net
reporter.
"Russia welcomes the meeting between the Presidents of Armenia and
Turkey. Russian Railways (RZD), which will operate the Armenian Railway
for 30 years, is interested in restoration of Kars-Gyumri line and
opening of the Armenian-Turkish border," he said. "Unfortunately, two
major questions still remain unsettled. Turkey urges Armenia to give
up its policy calling for international recognition of the Armenian
Genocide and to withdraw its forces from 7 regions surrounding Nagorno
Karabakh. I think a mutually acceptable variant is possible. Armenia
doesn’t renounce the Genocide but stops the worldwide recognition
campaign. For its part, Turkey doesn’t insist on withdrawal of
Armenian troops."
Armenia has to choose between economic blockade and Genocide
recognition, according to him.
"The West, which continues to supply Saakashvili with weapons and
push Georgia towards NATO, is the major destabilizing factor in the
Caucasus. If Turkey, as member state of the Alliance, blocks Georgia’s
admission, then it will be possible to hold a serious talk on its
Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform," Alexandrov resumed.