Expert highlights key points of President Sargsyan’s Munich speech on Armenian-Turkish relations

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
 Monday


Expert highlights key points of President Sargsyan's Munich speech on
Armenian-Turkish relations



YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 19, ARMENPRESS. Expert on Turkish studies Ruben
Safrastyan, commenting on the speech of Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan at the Munich Security Conference, highlights the point that
at the current circumstances the Armenian-Turkish protocols have lost
their significance.

In an interview with ARMENPRESS, Safrastyan said the Armenian
President clearly stated that the Armenian-Turkish protocols, which
were signed by his initiative, reflected the realities of that times,
but in current conditions they have lost their significance. “This was
a very important emphasis since really that protocols have lost their
meaning in current conditions”, the expert said.

Ruben Safrastyan said the President in his speech very clearly noted
that Armenia remains committed to normalizing the bilateral
inter-state relations with Turkey without any preconditions, but the
Turkish leadership, in fact, continues its ancient policy it chose
against Armenia, in other words, that is the policy of preconditions.
“The second key point is that it was stated that the leadership of
Turkey made a decision not to normalize the relations with Armenia,
but quoting Azerbaijan is just an excuse used by the Turkish
leadership who do not have a desire to normalize the relations with
Armenia”, Ruben Safrastyan said.

The expert also attached importance to the fact that the Armenian
President stated that Armenia took a lot of steps to normalize the
relations with Turkey as those who were opposing the protocols
comprised large number especially in the Diaspora. However, the expert
said, the Turkish side refused from these protocols.

The Armenian President in his remarks at the Munich Security
Conference said thirty years have passed since the fall of the Berlin
wall, but Turkey still continues to keep the border with Armenia
closed. He said with confidence that Armenia has taken all the
possible measures in order to overcome that impasse.

“Is Azerbaijan preventing Turkey from establishing relations with
Armenia, as many are trying to convince us? No, it is not the case.
The chief impediment is the lack of political will on the part of the
Turkish leadership. I believe you may be aware that many
representatives of the Armenian diaspora were not too happy about that
decision of ours. It was natural, as they were successors of survivors
of the Genocide and of homeland dispossession. I travelled around the
globe back then, met with our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora,
community after community, and discussed with them this very sensitive
issue.

Have the Turkish leaders displayed such political will? Have they been
faithful to the commitments they had signed up to?

We cannot wait eternally for Turkey's response. The Protocols were
negotiated under the existing circumstances. If Turkey desires to
await other circumstances and only then to ratify the Protocols, then
it is profoundly mistaken. Under potential new circumstances, a new
document is to be negotiated. Armenia does not resort to the language
of preconditions, but equally, Armenia shall never accept
preconditions put forth by anyone”, the President said.