POLL FINDS TURKEY DEAL UNPOPULAR IN YEREVAN

Asbarez
/poll-finds-turkey-deal-unpopular-in-yerevan/
Oct 19th, 2009

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-Most residents of Yerevan oppose Armenia’s
fence-mending agreements with Turkey and do not look forward to the
possible reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border, according to an
opinion poll released by on Monday.

The government-linked Armenian Sociological Association (ASA)
conducted the survey among 1,000 city residents on September 20-21,
three weeks before the signing of the Turkish-Armenian protocols.

According to Gevorg Poghosian, the ASA chairman, 52.4 percent of them
rejected the agreements envisaging the normalization of relations
between the two countries. Only 39 percent approved of the deal,
he said.

"It is obvious that at least in our republic, the public is split,"
Poghosian told a news conference.

He said many Armenians feel that the administration of President Serzh
Sarkisian is making too many concessions to the Turks. "For many,
many of our citizens it is still not clear why we are making such
concessions," he said.

The poll suggests that even the prospect of an open with Turkey does
not arouse much enthusiasm in the Armenian capital. Poghosian said
only 48 percent of respondents supported border opening, while 41
percent wanted the Turkish-Armenian frontier to remain closed.
From: Baghdasarian