RUBEN SAFRASTIAN CONSIDERS THAT ARMENIAN DIPLOMACY SHOULD BE ABLE TO USE CURRENT INTEREST OF TURKEY IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan

Se p 9, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 10, NOYAN TAPAN. The visit of Turkish President
Abdullah Gul to Yerevan and his invitation to Armenian President
to be present at the return football match between national teams
of Armenia and Turkey is evidence of Turkey’s positive position in
the issue of holding a dialogue on normalization of Armenian-Turkish
relations. Ruben Safrastian, the Director of the Institute of Oriental
Studies of the National Academy of Sciences, stated at a September
10 press conference.

According to him, for the first time over the past years the Armenian
diplomacy had a possibility to normalize its relations with Turkey, for
which so far it has been beneficial to keep the status quo in relations
with Armenia and which today has itself become active in normalization
of these relations. The scientist affirmed that the Armenian diplomacy
should be able to use the current interest of Turkey.

Evaluating Gul’s visit to Yerevan on the whole positive, R. Safrastian
meanwhile said that only as a result of long negotiations between
Armenia and Turkey it will be possible to solve the issue of opening
the border.

He did not agree to the opinion that Gul’s visit to Yerevan and his
meeting with Serzh Sargsyan is Armenia’s diplomatic victory: "It is
only one step taken in the right direction, which will be useful for
both Armenia and Turkey."