RICHARD GIRAGOSIAN: KARABAKH ISSUE RELATED TO ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS, BUT IT’S NO MORE A PRECONDITION
Anna Nazaryan
"Radiolur"
05.11.2009 17:17
"In the Armenian-Turkish relations we see a new stage of moving from
protocols to parliaments. This is more than football diplomacy. This
is now American football diplomacy, which is a contact sport. It’s
more violent and the rules are slightly different," Director of
the Armenian Center for National and International Studies Richard
Giragosian said at today’s briefing on the "Armenian-Turkish Diplomacy
& Nagorno Karabagh: Deal or No Deal?"
According to him, there are new demands coming from Turkish side
over Nagorno Karabakh. There are new series of tests and challenges
from Turkey on Armenia. These are Turkish tests not only of Armenian
reaction, but also of the international community, he said.
"The Karabakh issue is of greater significance in the context of
Armenian-Turkish relations. There are constant demands from Turkey and
the US over Nagorno Karabakh. The replacement of Matthew Bryza with
a new OSE Minsk Group Co-Chair was a significant return to earlier
US policy, where the Co-Chairman from the United States had no other
portfolio or responsibility. This was US policy until 2004. This
is a demonstration of US policy of greater significance of Nagorno
Karabakh. It also reflects the greater significance of the Minsk
Group itself," Richard Giragosian said.
Giragosian does not expect the Turkish parliament to do anything
regarding the protocols until early next year more specifically
February or March. "This is, of course, connected with the 95th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on April 24th. This is risky,
because Armenian patience is not infinite. Expectations on Turkey
are very high. The constant message from Brussels and Washington is
that Turkey must fulfill its obligations in a reasonable timeframe,"
he said.
ACNIS Director considers that we are going to see a new calendar
regarding the Minsk Group and Nagorno Karabakh, starting in Moldova
and moving to Athens, where the OSCE Ministerial Council is going to
meet on December 1 and 2. The Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan
are also set to meet there with a long-term goal of forging progress
on Karabakh by January.
The Nagorno Karabakh issue is related to Armenian-Turkish diplomacy.
But the most significant is that is no more directly related. It’s no
longer a precondition or a prerequisite for Armenian-Turkish diplomacy,
and it should not be allowed to return as a precondition.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
