R. SAFRASTYAN, "RUSSIA WILL NEVER UNDERTAKE SUCH STEPS WHICH WILL DESTABILIZE THE SITUATION IN ARMENIA"

ARMENPRESS
MAY 14, 2010
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 14, ARMENPRESS: "Russia will never undertake such steps
which will destabilize the situation in Armenia," Ruben Safrastyan,
director of the Oriental Studies Institute of the National Academy
of Sciences, said today at a meeting with journalists. He noted that
Russia is not the allied of Armenia only by words; actually it is
Armenia’s military allied and has economic profits.

R. Safrastyan, referring to the cooperation of Russia and Turkey,
noted that the main reason of rapprochement is the change of the
balance after the Russian-Georgian war.

"The role of the USA fell, and the role of Russia grew, in those
conditions Turkey almost stayed out of regional processes, and the
attempts of that country to create a union with Tbilisi and Baku
were not successful, and it is one of the reasons why Turkey tries
to improve the relations with Armenia," the specialist of Turkish
studies noted.

R. Safrastyan considered the relations of Turkey and Russia
an economic, but not a political rapprochement. In regard to the
Karabakh process, the speaker said the involvement of Turkey in that
process does not stem from the profits of Russia, as Russia is the
only regional country which is involved in it, and the involvement
of another regional country is not profitable for the latter. In
this respect R. Safrastyan also stressed the position of the Minsk
group co-chairs.

Referring to the possible influence of the Russian cooperation with
Turkey on Turkish-American relations, the speaker said that Turkey
has quite serious relations with the USA, and the USA in its turn
knows that Turkey is its important allied in the region. "But having
relations with Russia Turkey tries to raise its reputation," R.
Safrastyan said.

"I think it is high time for raising the issue on the Armenian
Genocide; Armenia must move that issue to the legal field," the
speaker said, and referring to the Armenian-Turkish relations he
stressed that Turkey is interested in regulating the interstate
relations with Armenia and in opening the borders, but it wants to
make a profit on it as much as possible.

"The undertaking of the negotiation process and its suspension by us
spoke of the independent diplomatic line in the Armenian diplomacy."

the specialist of Turkish studies said noting that Turkey is planning
interstate relations with Armenia taking into consideration the global
geological-political shifts.