ArmInfo. Armenia has always sought a rapprochement with Turkey, the ex-minister of foreign affairs of Armenia Ara Aivazyan told reporters on Tuesday in response to a question about his opinion of the Armenian foreign office`s activities in a number of fields, including rapprochement with Turkey.
"A statement was made yesterday on an Armenian-Turkish agreement to appoint special representatives for normalization of bilateral relations. And I would like to recall the words from a well-known movie: 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer.' Of course, at least the Armenian side, has always sought to start a dialogue without any preconditions. But Turkey has for a long period refused to start a dialogue. No doubt, normal conditions and the present situation should be differentiated - especially Turkey`s immediate involvement in the last war [in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone] and its new preconditions addressed to Armenia," Aivazyan said.
It is most important for the partners in Armenia`s foreign office to be well aware of the agenda they are going to push forward at the negotiations.
Mr Aivazyan also spoke of the regional platform 3+3. He hopes that Armenian diplomats are considering the threats and challenges that could result from the further activities of the format. As to whether the platform could cause damage to the OSCE Minsk Group and to the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Mr Aivazyan voiced fears that the format could neutralize or cast aspersions on the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. "I am sure our partners have accurately calculated everything. When foreign minister I stated once that words were in the past and we expected official Ankara to make positive steps. Regrettably, we have not seen any positive steps by Ankara. Quite the opposite, we can see constant claims, but not steps typical of good-neighborly relations. That is why I am somewhat confused and doubtful about the announced goals of the 3+3 format," the diplomat said.
Turkish FM MevlЃt Ђavusoglu stated recently that Ankara and Yerebvan intended to appoint special representatives to discuss steps toward rapprochement between the two states. He also announced the resumption of Istanbul-Yerevan charter flights. The Turkish FM stated that Ankara would act in coordination with Azerbaijan in normalizing its relations with Armenia.
Official Yerevan welcomes the Turkish FM`s statement. Vahan Hunanyan, Spokesman for Armenia`s foreign office, stated: "Armenia, both in the past and now, is ready for normalizing its relations with Turkey without preconditions, which is incorporated in the Armenian government`s programme. In this context, we welcome the Turkish foreign minister`s statement on the appointment of a special representative for normalization of relations. The Armenian side reaffirms it will appoint a special representative to conduct this dialogue," he said.