RUBEN SAFRASTIAN: "THERE IS NO PRECONDITION FOR TURKEY TO CHANGE ITS DECLINATORY POSITION WITH REGARD TO ISSUE OF GENOCIDE"
Noyan Tapan
Aug 28 2007
YEREVAN, AUGUST 28, NOYAN TAPAN. "Taking into consideration the recent
changes, which took place in Turkey, one cannot exclude that this
country will mitigate its position to some extent towards Armenia
with regard to political issues. However, there is no precondition
that Turkey will change its declinatory position with regard to the
issue of the Armenian Genocide."
This statement was made by Ruben Safrastian, the Head of the Institute
of Oriental Studies under the RA National Academy of Sciences, at
the press conference held on August 28.
As for the possibility of reopening the Armenian-Turkish border,
Ruben Safrastian mentioned that the closing of the border makes part
of the policy carried out towards Armenia by Turkey and, naturally,
this issue depends on the question of to what extent Turkey will
reconsider its position of principle towards Armenia.
In connection with the recent inter-political events happened in
Turkey, Ruben Safrastian mentioned that the Kemalistic and Islamistic
forces have arrived to a certain agreement, as a result of which
Abdullah Gul will win in the presidential elections. According to him,
a certain part of the Armenian community of that country has voted
for the "Development and Justice" party, expecting that this political
force will take concrete steps in the direction of improving the state
of religous minorities. According to the scientist, such a position
of the Armenian community is not a groundless one, since the leaders
of the "Development and Justice" party are consistently striving for
making Turkey a member of the European Union.