ARMENIA FACES NO RISK FROM RUSSIA-TURKEY OR TURKEY-IRAN APPROXIMATION

15:23 * 06.03.15

The rapprochement between Russian and Turkey on the one hand and
Turkey and Iran on the other pose absolutely no risks to Armenia,
according to Sergey Shakaryants, a political analyst.

At a news conference on Friday, the expert said he thinks that both
cooperation formats may increase country’s advantages instead. He said
he expects a positive impact also from Turkish-Iranian railway project
(on which the two countries periodically hold dialogues).

“And the Abkhazian railway maybe re-launched in case of the development
of the Russian-Persian relations. It may open great perspectives to
Armenia,” he added.

Commenting on the Russia-Turkey relations, Shakaryants said he doesn’t
expect them to offer any privileges to Armenia in terms of the return
of the appropriated lands. “It is naivety to think that our lands
should be returned with the Russian’s arm. Whatever the Russian does
it motivated by their own [national] interests. So we do not expect
Russia to exercise any pressure upon Turkey. And there is one major
reason for that: Turkey is a member of NATO. So if Russia puts forward
any territorial claim to Turkey, the latter may declare that Russia
is a threat which must be eliminated. As we know, a threat by any
NATO member become a threat for all,” he noted.