Friday, February 18 2022 15:28

ArmInfo.. During the discussion at the Armenian Foreign Ministry, it became clear that the absence of refutation regarding some statements around the Armenian- Turkish  process does not mean at all that these statements correspond to  realities. Head of the Armenian Institute of International and  Security Affairs (AIISA) Stepan Safaryan told ArmInfo. 

On February 16, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Armenia's  Special Representative in the process of normalizing relations with  Turkey Ruben Rubinyan met with representatives of the country's  scientific and expert circles at the Armenian Foreign Ministry. The  discussion of the process and prospects for the normalization of  relations with Turkey took place on the eve of the second meeting of  the special representatives, which will be held in Vienna on February  24. The first meeting of the special representatives took place on  January 14 in Moscow.

"I can only say that these statements have not been refuted due to  the presence of many reasons, which in turn are due to many  circumstances. For example, the same statement by Ankara about  discussions with Baku has at least two interpretations. Does the  "discussion" presuppose the coordination of positions or simply  informing about the processes with Armenia? We remember very well how  the Turks killed the Zurich process at the request of Baku, but we  absolutely do not know what decision Turkey will take today in case  of contradictions between its own regional ambitions and the  interests of Azerbaijan. Those interests can either coincide or  contradict," he emphasized.

According to Safaryan, during the free, constructive, intense and  sincere discussion, the experts asked Mirzoyan and Rubinyan questions  and presented their own views on the Armenian-Turkish process. He  also considered it important for the authorities to realize the need  for discussions and consultations around this process. According to  him, the general concern of the present representatives of the expert  community was expressed in the form of doubts about the sincerity of  Turkey's motivation and its goals regarding the achievement of  concrete results of the process with Armenia. As well as suspicions  about the imitative nature of the process on the part of Ankara.

Noting that there are no specific documents on the negotiating table  and the general uncertainty around the normalization process, the  analyst stressed the need to develop answers to many questions and  forecast possible scenarios for the development of the situation. In  particular, he considered it strange that Turkey started the process  without mentioning its traditional preconditions. In this light, he  noted that at a certain stage of the negotiations, Armenia is likely  to face problems. And already today it is necessary to think and  calculate what and whose problems it will be. In this light, Safaryan  considers it necessary to discuss all possible scenarios in order to  develop our own steps, "red lines", future actions in the negotiation  process with Turkey.

"Since the process has just begun, neither we nor the authorities  have answers to many questions. But it is important to emphasize that  the government has a desire to compare its own versions and vision of  the situation with the versions and vision of experts. So far, we  have only agreed on the next meeting. The process is very complicated  "and it needs to be laid on a solid, professional basis. In order to  avoid mistakes in the future. It is also unknown whether the United  States, the Russian Federation and the EU, which have already  welcomed it, will take a unified position on the process in the  future. Especially in light of the current deepening and aggravation  of their relations," summed up Safaryan