The Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Alen Simonyan, stated that the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations is being artificially stopped by Azerbaijan, whose political lobbying directly exerts pressure on Ankara.
In an interview with the Armenian media published in Turkey, the President of the National Assembly emphasized the paradoxical nature of the created situation. Baku conducts direct peace negotiations with Yerevan, but at the same time it hinders the Armenian-Turkish dialogue.
According to him, Ankara has actually fallen under the influence of Azerbaijan. Despite this, Simonyan expressed optimism about the early opening of borders and the establishment of diplomatic ties, stressing that technically both sides have done everything possible and have no serious disputes.
“Turkey seems to be a prisoner of these relations, but I believe that in the near future we will witness the opening of the border,” the spokesperson said.
Commenting on the initiative of the head of the Turkish parliament, Numan Kurtulmus, to create a regional parliamentary format with the participation of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, Simonyan described it as a positive intermediate step against the background of the delay in opening the borders. He informed that he personally made a similar proposal a year and a half ago, sending official letters to colleagues from neighboring countries.
Simonyan added that Armenia should not be isolated and is ready to directly negotiate with its neighbors on issues that concern it.
Referring to Ankara’s unstable position, Simonyan drew attention to the constant change in Turkish preconditions. At first, the opening of the border was connected with the solution of the Karabakh problem, and then with the signing of the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty.
The speaker reminded that Yerevan and Baku have already held lengthy negotiations, fully agreed on the 17 points of the document and even initialed it, but the expected breakthrough in relations with Turkey has not yet been recorded.
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