Thursday, May 11 2023 19:04

ArmInfo.Now, at this stage, for Turkey, it is important  that Armenia unilaterally accepts all the  maximalist demands of Azerbaijan regarding the settlement of  Nagorno-Karabakh. Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of  Armenia, Turkologist Ruben Safrastyan expressed a similar opinion in  a conversation with ArmInfo correspondent, speaking about the  problems of the unhurried and even slow progress of the  Armenian-Turkish negotiations on the normalization of relations,  which began on January 14, 2022 in Moscow.

According to the Turkologist, the unhurried negotiation process is  proceeding according to the scenario outlined in advance by Turkey,  and its purpose for the time being is limited to promises, the  implementation of which can only begin if Armenia "behaves well" and  is ready to make concessions. In the context of the current  aggravation of the international situation and the unstable balance  of power in the region, Turkey is trying to convince Armenia that it  is Turkey that is becoming the main actor and the leading power in  the South Caucasus, the requirements of which should be met. And  since Russia is seriously preoccupied with the problem of Ukraine and  a tough confrontation with NATO, Turkey is slowly advancing its  interests, which perfectly fit the claims of Ankara's closest  strategic ally, Azerbaijan. So far, Turkey is only luring Armenia  into its nets, promising to open the borders in order to push the  latter to make concessions, the main of which is the solution of the  Nagorno-Karabakh issue exclusively according to the scenario of  Azerbaijan.

All other issues, which are already directly related to the  regulation of bilateral relations, go into the background or in the  second place, since Turkey does not see the need for urgent measures  to normalize relations with weak Armenia, either for political or  even more so for economic reasons. Safrastyan, meanwhile, noted that  from the point of view of bilateral relations, Turkey certainly has  its own demands on Armenia. First of all, this is a matter of  neutralizing the political instrument of pressure in the hands of  Armenia, in connection with the further development of the process of  international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, that is, it is  about stopping this process by official Yerevan, and, as a maximum,  about agreeing to the idea of establishing a mixed Armenian-Turkish  commission of historians to establish the "truth about the Armenian  Genocide" which has been voiced by Ankara for a long time. Thus,  Ankara insists on the final withdrawal of this issue from the  political and international platform to the field of scientific  research.

Another issue that undoubtedly worries Turkey for many years is the  opportunity to put all the dots on the "i" in the issue of official  recognition by Armenia of the provisions of the Treaty of Kars. And  despite the fact that today's borders between Armenia and Turkey are  determined precisely by the provisions of the Treaty of Kars,  however, Ankara desires to hear recognition of it at the highest  official level of independent Armenia in order to forever  "discourage" Armenia to restore territories within its historical  borders.  According to the political scientist, to these three  demands, Turkey will certainly add the so-called Zangezur Corridor  demand, at least in an extraterritorial manner, ensuring free land  communication between Turkey and  Azerbaijan.

But the success of achieving these claims will depend on the further  international situation and on what kind of balance of power will  develop in the region from the point of view of the positions of  Russia and Iran. One way or another, but the appetite of Turkey and  Azerbaijan for Zangezur is very large and they do not mind returning  to the provisions of the Batumi Treaty of 1918, according to which  Armenia had only 10 thousand square meters left.

According to the academician, Turkey is a country with a  centuries-old imperial past, which not only has a great diplomatic  practice, but also, importantly, relies on strength in its  international policy. "In this regard, Armenia should refrain from  illusions, since it is not only about communications that Turkey and  Azerbaijan want to use without hindrance, but it is about Syunik as a  whole. If we take publications and statements of officials seriously,  there is a risk of facing territorial demands," Safrastyan stressed,  recalling that Turkey has serious problems with almost all of its  neighbors. Turkish troops are on the territory of Syria and, in fact,  Iraq. Turkey  intervenes by force in the Libyan conflict. Not to  mention Northern Cyprus.

Turkish troops are in 14 countries of the world. According to  Safrastyan, one should not hope for a possible change of the Turkish  leader either.

, the Turkologist emphasized.

Nevertheless, the expert believes that despite the fact that Erdogan  is in the interests of the Kremlin and it will rely on him and  support him, Russia is not going to leave the South Caucasus. , the expert believes.