ARMENIAN-TURKISH RECONCILIATION ENTAILS NEW CHALLENGES

PanARMENIAN.Net
18.01.2010 18:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ During Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s
visit to Armenia, special accent was shifted on the issue of Karabakh
conflict settlement and Armenian-Turkish rapprochement being separate
processes, said Alexander Skakov, expert at Russian Institute of
Strategic Research.

Armenian-Turkish rapprochement entails new challenges for countries in
the region, he told a TV bridge devoted to "Armenian-Russian relations:
summing up the visits of Russian FM Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Yerevan".

According to Russian expert, the normalization of RA-Turkish ties will
call into question Russia’s military presence in Armenia, essentially
weakening Georgia’s transit potentials.

With regard to Turkey and Azerbaijan, Mr. Skakov believes Ankara will
try to maintain warm relations with Baku, while taking real steps in
another direction.

The Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 as result of the
ethnic cleansing launched by Azerbaijan in the final years of the
Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since
the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions
of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control
of Nagorno Karabakh defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan have since
been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.

The protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

The 102nd Russian military base is part of the Transcaucasian Group of
Forces, located in Gyumri (Armenia), 12. km. north of Yerevan. It was
established in 1995 one the basis of Transcaucsaian Front, and carries
out duty services in the frameworks of the united antiaircraft system.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress