ARMENIA SHOULD WITHDRAW FROM NORMALIZATION WITH TURKEY: ARF-D

Tert.am
14.04.10

Armenia should not have started the normalization with Turkey in
this way at all or it should have withdrawn from the normalization
process shortly after beginning it, Armenian Revolutionary Federation
(Dashnaktsutiun, ARF-D) deputy Hrayr Karapetyan said at a press
conference today.

In his words Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent
threats to deport illegal Armenian from Turkey was a good reason for
Yerevan to withdraw from the process, though it did not take advantage
of that chance.

Karapetyan suggested that Armenia withdrew from the process now –
prior to April 24. At the same time he did not downplay the importance
of establishing diplomatic relations with Ankara and the opening of
Armenia-Turkey borders.

As what concerns the recent developments in Washington Karapetyan said
that on the one hand they proved once again that the Turkey-Azerbaijan
alliance still exists and that Azerbaijan and Turkey act as one single
unit when it comes to foreign issues.

On the other hand, according to Karapetyan, those meetings testified to
the fact that Erdogan’s statements, that the Armenia-Turkey relations
will not improve and that the border will not open unless Karabakh
conflict is resolved, are quite true.

Asked what changes the Washington meetings could bring about,
Karapetyan said that Armenia and Turkey reaffirmed their positions
there, while the US and other world powers realized that Turkey is
firm on its stance.