ARMENIA WOULD BECOME A TRANSIT COUNTRY IF TURKEY OPENS BORDERS: EXPERT

ARKA
Nov 3, 2009

YEREVAN, November 3, /ARKA/. A prominent Armenian expert in Turkish
studies defended last Friday president Serzh Sargsyan’s drive to
improve relations with Turkey saying Armenia would become a transit
country if Turkey opens the border.

After months of secret diplomacy, Armenia and Turkey took a significant
step on October 10 as Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan signed protocols in Zurich
to establish diplomatic relations and develop bilateral contacts. Both
countries should have the protocols ratified in their parliaments
within a `reasonable time frame.’

Speaking at a news conference Ruben Sarfrastian, director of the
Institute of Oriental Studies, an affiliation of the Armenian National
Academy of Sciences, said in terms of geopolitical location Armenia
is in the center of the South Caucasus and in this sense it can be
compared to Germany in West Europe.

"This is why any regional project will have to traverse Armenia and
once the border is open Armenia will get a third conduit to the other
world and its potential of a regional center will only increase,’
he said.

According to him, although it is still early to talk about concrete
projects, but Russia has showed its interest in the soonest opening
of the Turkish-Armenian border, which he said is an indication of
its far-reaching goals.

"Armenian-Turkish relations have not only political but also economic
impact on Turkish -Azerbaijani relations. This is something new and
very soon, more exactly, after a new round of Turkish-Azerbaijani
talks on the price of gas Azerbaijan ships to Turkey, it will be clear
whether we should expect Azerbaijan’s tough response to Turkish move
to improve relations with Armenia,’ he said, adding that Turkey will
lose interest towards normalization of relations with Armenia once
the United States lessens its pressure on Ankara.

The two countries have no diplomatic ties, the border is closed by
Turkey since 1993 and there is a history of animosity that stems from
the mass killing of Armenians in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire.