WHY DID PRESIDENT SARGSYAN GO TO TURKEY? SHARMAZANOV EXPLAINS
Tert.am
15.10.09
Speaking with journalists today, Republican Party of Armenia (RPA)
press spokesperson and RPA parliamentary faction secretary Eduard
Sharmazanov responded to the question why Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan visited Turkey when he had previously stated he would go if
the borders were open or they were on the threshold of opening.
"The signing of the Protocols allows for a positive perspective that
they will be ratified," Sharmazanov stated.
Referring to yesterday’s football match, firstly Sharmazanov noted
that the match ended the period of football diplomacy and we have
now entered a new phase of Armenian-Turkish relations. He also added
that he isn’t of the opinion that Armenian diplomacy experienced
defeat in this process; rather, he is convinced that the policy
initiated by the Armenian president over the past year has yielded
good results. Armenian diplomacy, according to him, is very well
prepared and the process in Zurich proved it.
Assessing the results of the football match, Sharamazanov said
the Armenian team had chosen correct tactics. The results would’ve
been even worse if offensive (rather than defensive) tactics were
used. Sharamazanov advised one to be realistic when evaluating the
results of the match and take into consideration that Turkey is way
ahead of Armenia in FIFA’s ratings. "There is a difference here in
the level of football," Sharmazanov noted.