news.am, Armenia
Jan 5 2010
2010 year of international pressure: Yervand Bozoyan
12:05 / 01/05/2010 The most significant event of 2009 in foreign policy
was signing of Armenia-Turkey Protocols, and the law on amnesty `the
most important one in domestic policy, expert Yervand Bozoyan told
NEWS.am. He hailed negative the fact that Protocols signed in Zurich
are conditioned by Karabakh peace process. `I repeatedly stated that
politics supposes political processes but not legal. Legal documents
usually are of less significance, frequently they remain ink on paper.
It is important what political consequences these juridical acts will
have. As to Armenia-Turkey Protocols, they are directly linked with
Karabakh issue,’ the expert said.
The expert considers that 2010 will be a difficult year for Armenia,
as international community will increase its pressure in the peace
process, influenced by Ankara which links Protocols’ signing with
Karabakh conflict settlement. `Ankara has greater weight for
international community than Yerevan, and Turkey’s conditions on
Karabakh will be accepted. Armenian authorities will need great will
to resist the pressure that supposes unilateral concessions from
Armenian side on Karabakh peace process,’ Bozoyan stated. He
underlined that situation will depend not on leadership only, but
political forces on the whole. `Political forces should respond
adequately to the events. If they, and particularly Armenian National
Congress, react as they did in 2009, Armenia will be in deplorable
state as it was in 1920,’ Bozoyan outlined.
According to him, if Armenian side makes concessions in Karabakh
issue, Turkey will not ratify the Protocols. `In this case new
political situation will need new approaches for the establishment of
relations with neighbors, new approaches that will not have
consequences of notorious &`football diplomacy.’ Before this diplomacy
was launched, Turkey itself was ready to make the first step. They
started speaking about normalization of the relations with Armenia,
guided by &`zero problems with neighbors’ concept,’ the expert
concluded.
A.G.