NO AMERICAN SOAP WILL CLEAN THE BLOOD

Lragir.am
03/11/09

The meeting of the presidents Barack Obama and Abdullah Gul will
open a new page in the Turkish-American relations, said the head of
the Armenian Centre for national and international studies Richard
Kirakosyan.

According to the expert, there will hardly be anything new. The
Azerbaijani and Turkish threats are not news. Azerbaijan keeps trying
to ruin the process and the threats of the Azerbaijani president are
messages not only to Armenia but also to the international community
that Azerbaijan is not sincere.

The Turkish position is another important issue. Even if the Karabakh
issue is taken out of the Armenia-Turkey protocols, Turkey keeps
controlling how strong the Armenian response is. The real control
for Armenia will start after New Year. The main question is what
price Armenia is asked for the opening of the border and for the
establishment of diplomatic relations. Even if Turkey ratifies the
protocols and opens the border, it is not to be praised because these
are minimal demands of normal countries, said Richard Kirakosyan.

According to him, December 7 is important not only because of the
Obama-Gul meeting but also because that day is the end of the term for
the Turkish parliamentary commission on external issues. According to
the official stance, the commission will give a positive assessment
to the protocols. But the real protraction comes from the Turkish
parliament. It will protract the ratification until March to connect
it with the April 24 memorial day.

It is early to say that Armenia is in favor. Armenian and Turkish
agreements will never solve Armenian home issues. Armenia has many
unsolved problems after March 1. The real challenge for Armenia is to
assess well the time and to make democratic and economic reforms. Even
joining parties will solve no question, says Kirakosyan meaning prime
minister’s joining the RP.

Kirakosyan sees a real danger in the fact that the ratification of
the protocols depends on the Turkish home policy. It is bad because
no one may influence. It is dangerous for us to depend on the Turkish
home policy because we saw what happened in such a case in 1915.

As to Armenia, if Turkey does not ratify the protocols, Armenia
has to review its policy. Perhaps this time we will need to impose
preconditions ourselves. Turkey respects only strength and answers
only strength. We are possible to be stronger this time. The blood
of the genocide victims in on the Turks’ hands and no American soap
will clean it, noted the expert.