ARMENIAN-TURKISH BORDER TO OPEN SOONER THAN SETTLEMENT OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH CONFLICT: AMERICAN ANALYST
Tert
Nov 24 2009
Armenia
The Armenian-Turkish border will most likely open sooner than the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will be settled, stated American analyst
Jeffrey Mankoff, who deals in international affairs, in an interview
with Azerbaijani news source Day.az.
According to Mankoff, Armenia has an economic interest in opening
the border. He stated that for the Armenian Diaspora, which doesn’t
directly deal with consequences of Armenia’s economic and political
isolation, it is easy to criticize this arrangement, which doesn’t
settle the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. But for residents of Armenia,
the benefit from that step is indisputable. For its part, Turkey,
in opening the border, may increase Ankara’s weight in the region,
including in its negotiations with the European Union.
According to the American analyst, the only way which Armenia
and Turkey can reach at least a limited deal is by putting the
Nagorno-Karabakh issue aside.
Taking into consideration the pressure, which the Armenian government
was experiencing, it’s unlikely that Yerevan will make any concessions
in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Turkey, too, must retain some leverage
with Azerbaijan, who is concerned about Armenian-Turkish relations. It
will take time to analyze these Protocols and to discuss their
perspectives in Armenia’s and Turkey’s parliaments. And registering
progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, which is more complicated by
its very nature, will take more time, the analyst concluded.