RUBEN SAFRASTYAN: PROTOCOLS DIRECTED TOWARD NORMALIZATION OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENT OF ARMENIAN DIPLOMACY

ARMENPRESS
Sep 1, 2009

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 1, ARMENPRESS: The protocols directed toward
normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations are important achievements
of the Armenian diplomacy, Director of Eastern Sciences Institute of
the Armenian Academy of Sciences, Turkish Scientist Ruben Safrastyan
said today at a press conference, pointing out that these documents
must be treated very seriously. "Of course, very serious work has been
carried out and it might be said that these documents are important
and positive for Armenia," he said, adding that the positive thing is
that Turkey refused to tie relations with Armenia with its stance in
the Karabakh conflict regulation process as the document says nothing
connecting Armenian-Turkish relations with Karabakh issue.

He said that the Turkish diplomacy was trying to make Armenia reject
its Genocide recognition policy. "In these documents, though, we see
that Turkey has also stepped back from forwarding pre-conditions,"
Safrastyan pointed out, noting that, though, it does not mean that
Turkey in short period of time will implement its commitments. "It
will be a long process during which our diplomats must preserve the
current attacking strategy," Safrastyan pointed out, adding that
Armenia will reach its final goal and relations with Turkey will
normalize without preconditions.

The speaker said that such sharp step of Turkey is explained
with the latter’s active policy in the region. Turkey’s leadership
understood that it is not right to tie country’s foreign policy with
interests of another country – Azerbaijan. Besides, normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations is one of the demands of EU to Turkey.