Sargsyan’s invitation to Gul would be justified if Turkish leader vi

Sargsyan’s invitation to Gul would be justified if Turkish leader
visited Armenia – Turkologist

21:01 * 27.05.14

In an interview with Tert.am, diplomat and Turkologist Ara Papyan said
he doesn’t expect the Turkish leader to visit Armenia for next year’s
Genocide centennial events despite the invitation by his Armenian
counterpart.

The analyst said Serzh Sargsyan’s move could be considered justified
if Turkish President Abdullah Gul did really have an intention to come
to Armenia in 2015.

The Armenian leader voiced the call today at the meeting of the state
commission coordinating the Genocide centennial events. He said
particularly that the Turkish authorities have to be in the country,
next to the Armenian people on the Genocide centennial if they are
really interested in the historical truth.

Commenting on the remark, Mr Papyan said he believes that it signals a
kind of progress but added that he would prefer Turkey to propose such
an initiative.

“It is obvious that the Armenian-Turkish relations have not seen any
progress to date, so the centennial is an opportunity for both sides.
Hence the things can be said to have somehow got off the ground. I
would prefer Turkey to be the initiator as a side facing
responsibility, but I thinkErdogan’s speech on Genocide was very
highly valued. So Serzh Sargsyan had to decide on steps out of the
ordinary. If the Turkish side accepts the invitation and visits
Tsitsernakaberd [the Yerevan park where the Genocide memorial and the
Genocide museum-institute are situated], it will be possible to record
a certain progress in the relations,” he noted.

Papyan added in the meantime that he doesn’t think the Turkish side’s
possible rejection will raise the country’s advantages. “Whether an
invitation or an address, if they accept it and come to Armenia, it
will be justified. If not, the Turkish side will suffer more losses, I
think. It is a calculated move because something had to follow
Erdogan’s speech,” he explained.