MASIS MAYILYAN: ANKARA IS CLOSE TO PERCEPTION

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21:38:33 – 01/09/2009

The head of the NKR public council on foreign policy and security
Masis Mayilyan comments on the protocol on the Armenian and Turkish
relations published on August 31

Turkey is obvious to have imposed more than three preconditions for
establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey:
recognition of Turkey’s present state border by Armenia, exception of
works aimed at recognition of the Armenian genocide from the Armenian
foreign-political agenda and concession of liberated territories
to Azerbaijan. Later, there were signals attesting that Ankara was
ready to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia on condition of
fulfillment of at least one of these preconditions.

The texts of the protocols dwell with the recognition of borders as
well as with the partially "freezing" of the genocide issue. Setting
up a commission enables Turkey to have additional arguments in the
parliaments of foreign countries in connection with the genocide
issue. These two facts are probable to cause negative response within
the Armenian society.

An important and positive circumstance in the protocol is the lack
of a direct connection between the Karabakh issue settlement and the
normalization of the Armenian and Turkish relations. Ankara seems to
be close to realizing the fact that the present stage of the Karabakh
issue settlement cannot be an obstacle for the Armenian and Turkish
relations. Let us hope that such a progress in perception will not
be harmed by external influences.