RUSSIA WILL NOT ACCEPT TURKISH LEADERSHIP
The Messenger
May 17 2010
Georgia
Armenian political analyst Gagik Arutunian thinks that Russia will
never allow Turkey to play the leading role in the Caucasus region. He
says President Medvedev’s visit to Turkey is simply about deepening
trade and economic relations between the two countries and there
is nothing new or unusual in Medvedev’s recent statements about the
Karabakh conflict. Arutunian thinks that Russia will not give Turkey
the chance to take the lead in resolving this problem.
Arutunian thinks that Armenia should not be overly sensitive to the
close relations between Russia and Turkey. He says that Russia pursues
a multi-vectored policy but has always defended Armenia’s interests
in the international arena, as Armenia is Russia’s strategic partner.
Arutunian expresses his confidence that Moscow will not give extra
benefits to Ankara and thinks that Iran’s initiative to actively
participate in resolving the Karabakh conflict is a diplomatic step.
He also suggests that Iran on one side and the US on the other
resolving the conflict is unrealistic. Iran has initiated convening
a meeting in Tehran on Karabakh issues involving Iran, Armenia and
Azerbaijan but according to Arutunian this is unlikely to yield any
significant results.