Monday, October 17 2016 16:24

ArmInfo. When commenting on Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's latest statement about "the possible positive role of Turkey in the Karabakh peace process," Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Eduard Sharmazanov recalls Lavrov's previous statement made in Yerevan on April 22, which gave a negative assessment to Ankara's influence on the peace process.     

In particular, Sharmazanov recalls that on April 22 in Yerevan Lavrov  touched on Ankara's statements made during the April war. Lavrov  stressed that Ankara's statements campaigned for war, not peace, and  that they ran counter to the logic of peace process and to the stand  of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.  "Lavrov literally said - Ankara's  statements called for a military solution to the Karabakh conflict,  not peaceful settlement," Sharmazanov said, stressing that the  Armenian side shares this opinion of Lavrov.       

The Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament emphasized that Ankara  cannot be involved in the Karabakh process due to its biased and  lopsided pro-Azerbaijani stand. "The Armenian side will not let it  happen," Sharmazanov said, urging the international community to  influence Ankara in the matter of ratification of the  Armenian-Turkish protocols and unblocking of Armenia's borders.      

To note, on October 14 Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in  Yerevan that Turkey can play a positive role in the Nagorno-Karabakh  conflict settlement. "The fact that Turkey can play a positive role,  ensuring the unblocking of Nagorno-Karabakh, ensuring normal economic  cooperation in the region - this is a major factor that we always  have in mind," he told reporters. "If Armenia and Turkey get back to  the implementation of their agreements without reference to the  Karabakh conflict, we will only be glad. But our feeling is that  progress in the Karabakh settlement will be crucial for seeing  Armenian-Turkish relations normalized," TASS quotes Lavrov as saying. 

The Turkish Foreign Ministry takes a positive view of Sergey Lavrov's  statement. At the same time, the Turkish Foreign Ministry notes that  Turkey supports Azerbaijan in this matter and campaign for the  settlement of the conflict within the framework of "territorial  integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan". "As a member of the OSCE  Minsk Group, Turkey keeps a close watch on the settlement processes  and is trying to contribute to promotion of the talks through close  contacts with Azerbaijan," the Turkish Foreign Ministry says.