RUBEN MELKONYAN: WE SHOULD BE READY TO RESIST THE ARTFUL TRAPS OF TURKEY
Gita Elibekyan
"Radiolur"
23.04.2009 18:42
Does the joint statement issued by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of
Armenia, Turkey and Switzerland mean that Turkey’s diplomacy has won?
Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan told a press conference today that "if
the Armenian diplomacy has entered the game, it should be ready to
resist the artful traps of Turkey."
As for the roadmap, Melkonyan considers that the questions refer to
the discussion of the stage-by stage opening of the Armenian-Turkish
border. He noted, however, that the roadmap could refer to the Karabakh
issue rather than the Armenian-Turkish relations.
According to Melkonyan, if the roadmap is related to the Karabakh
issue, then "the return of the five territories to Azerbaijan is the
price we pay for the freezing of the Karabakh issue and the opening
of the Armenian-Turkish border. Is it worth paying the price for
this? I think no."
The Turkologist considers that if it is so, then "the most important
of the Turkish preconditions has worked and we have accepted this
precondition."
However, Melkonyan wishes to believe in the official position of
Armenia that "we will accept no precondition for the opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border."