PROBLEM OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS WILL NOT BE SOLVED EITHER UNDER CURRENT OR FUTURE GENERATIONS, POLITICAL SCIENTIST LEVON MELIK-SHAHNAZARIAN CONSIDERS

Noyan Tapan

Se p 26, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 26, NOYAN TAPAN. The opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border is fraught with much dangers, including in economic respect: in
particular, it will do much harm to Armenia’s light industry. However,
as political scientist Levon Melik-Shahnazarian said at the September
26 press conference, the greatest danger is that Turkey will start
accusing Armenia of giving camps to Kurdistan Workers Party.

According to L. Melik-Shahnazarian’s observation, at present Turkey
competes with Russia, Iran and the United States to expand its
influence in the region. Touching upon Turkey’s readiness to play
the role of a mediator in the issue of Nagorno Karabakh settlement,
the political scientist said that Armenia does not need such a
mediator. According to him, the mediator, which considers itself and
Azeris as different elements of the same people, cannot be unbiassed.

L. Melik-Shahnazarian affirmed that the problem of Armenian-Turkish
relations will not be solved either under the current or the future
generations. "Civilization is the basis of contradictions of these
relations. And in order to overcome it we need to live in the same
civilization for many and many centuries," he said.

The political scientist in general welcomed RA President
Serzh Sargsyan’s speech on September 25 at the UN General
Assembly. However, he does not agree to the sentence "on occupying
Azeri territories." According to him, the President should have said
not Azeri territories but territories occupied by Azeris.