RUSTAMIAN: NORMALIZING RELATIONS WITH ARMENIA FALL OUT OF PAN-TURKISM
YERKIR
20.12.2007 16:59
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The key reason for the current crisis in the
Armenian-Turkish relations is that Turkey puts forward preconditions,
National Assembly’s Foreign Relations Committee chairman Armen
Rustamian said at the parliamentary hearings on the Armenian-Turkish
relations.
He said that those preconditions include the recognition of Turkey’s
territorial integrity through a unilateral double ratification of
the Kars Treaty and ensure Nakhijevan’s tie with Azerbaijan, stop
pursuing the recognition of the Armenian Genocide and settle the
Karabakh conflict by withdrawing troops from Karabakh and adjacent
territories. He says Turkey is questioning the only Armenian-Turkish
treaty by demanding a double ratification of the Kars Treaty.
Nakhijevan is mentioned because it was given to Azerbaijan as a
territory under protection and not a territory being a part of it.
By demanding that the Armenian Genocide issue is not raised, Turkey
aims to avoid any responsibility – territorial or material. By putting
forward the Karabakh settlement issue, Turkey is becoming an unofficial
party to the conflict.
Establishing relations with Armenia falls out of the pan-Turkism plans
of Turkey and Azerbaijan, Rustamian said, adding that pan-Turkism
poises threat not only to Armenia but also to the security of the
entire region. He said that Turkey’s admission into the European
Union could be favorable for Armenia if becoming a European country
is a sincere goal and not a means to boost its pan-Turkism.