ArmInfo.Yerevan is in vain relying on Washington for Ankara unblocking the borders, Viktor Nadein-Raevsky, Researcher of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), said in an interview with ArmInfo.
"No doubt, the United States is attentive to the Armenian-Turkish process. Another question is that Turkey is not at all a state under the U.S. overwhelming influence despite its being a NATO member and its other ties with the United States. In this context, I do not think the Armenian leadership's hopes are in line with the reality and trends inside Turkey, and one of the reasons is that Turkey is coordinating its policy toward Armenia with Baku," he said.
Ankara is not expected to make independent steps toward Armenia without preconditions at least until the process of signing of an Armenian-Azerbaijan peace agreement shows progress, and Azerbaijan is clearly stating it is holding great expectations, Mr Nadein-Raevsky said.
For Azerbaijan, any Armenian-Turkish negotiations and Ankara's steps toward Yerevan are instruments for ensuring progress in its own negotiations with Armenia, especially with Turkey itself not expecting any preferences from normalizing its relations with Armenia. So Turkey has no need to hurry.
"The result is the present uncertainty over the prospects for normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. See, the process has been continuing for nearly six months, with three meetings of the Special Envoys. But even experts and analysts do not know anything about the results – to say nothing of the public. Moreover, to create an atmosphere of confidence, Yerevan is not voicing any of its demands to remedy historical injustice. In its turn, Ankara is dragging time in Baku's interests and can, in necessary, put forward its own preconditions at any moment," Mr Nadein-Raevsky said.