RUSSIA IS STEPPING UP PRESSURE ON TURKEY, TURKOLOGISTS SAY

Noyan Tapan
Jan 15, 2010

YEREVAN, JANUARY 15, NOYAN TAPAN. With the decision of the
Constitutional Court, Armenia has taken its step, and now it is
Turkey’s turn, Turkologist Artak Shakarian declared at the January
15 press conference. According to him, the visit of Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov to Yerevan showed that Russia is stepping
up pressure on Turkey, and the West will do the same. A. Shakarian
forecast that Turkey in its turn will again raise the issue of
necessity of making progress in the Karabakh problem. As a result,
in his words, the Minsk Group Co-chairs "will meet, decide something
which the Turks will perceive as progress and move forward".

Another Turkologist – Hakob Chakrian expressed an opinion that there
is no need for constant speculation over the problem of relations
between Armenia and Turkey, especially as the protocols have already
been signed. As for the current state of affairs, according to him,
the Turks’ hope that Russia will put pressure on Armenia regarding
the Karabakh problem has not come true. Moreover, as H. Chakrian
underlined, to judge by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s
statements, the Turks themselves have been put under pressure. The
Turkologist said the Armenian-Turkish normalization is just beginning
with these protocols and Armenia should be prepared for further
developments.

He once again called on political forces not to speculate on the
protocols, saying that there are a lot of themes for criticism: the
poor manpower policy, the hard socioeconomic situation, etc. When a
reporter asked him to assess Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian from
the viewpoint of manpower policy, H. Chakrian described him as an
"experienced diplomat of the Soviet school".