Ankara using prospect of opening its borders as bait to extract  further concessions from Armenia - Armenian expert

ArmInfo.Official Ankara is using the prospect of opening its borders as bait to extract further concessions from Armenia. This opinion was expressed by Armenian Turkologist Varuzhan Geghamyan on his Facebook page.

Meanwhile, as the expert pointed out, Turkey, of course, has not yet  opened a single railway with Armenia, let alone a border. Moreover,  Geghamyan is confident that the Turkish side is not preparing for  such a step, and there is a very compelling and pragmatic reason for  this. "After the collapse of the USSR and Armenia's independence,  Turkey has waged war against our country using an economic blockade,  which is an instrument of military soft power. However, this  instrument fails to serve its original purpose, as its effectiveness  from a purely economic perspective is highly questionable. It is used  by official Ankara as a propaganda and psychological tool," the  Turkologist noted.

As Geghamyan explained, since 1991, the Armenian people have been  constantly convinced that after the borders with Turkey open, they  will enjoy economic prosperity. This implies that all of Armenia's  economic problems stem from the closed borders with Turkey. He noted  that this propagandistic and manipulative thesis, unfortunately, has  become deeply ingrained in the perceptions of Armenian society and  even the national elite, who view the opening of the borders with  Turkey as an absolute blessing, without any real, scientific evidence  to support this. "This issue is based entirely on common sense. This  logic is fueled by claims like 'an open border is better than a  closed one,' 'there are no closed borders in the 21st century,' and  other unfounded assertions. Meanwhile, the main beneficiary of this  propaganda and the widespread dissemination of this thesis is Turkey.  According to this propaganda logic, Turkey's military move is viewed  as purely economic and something 'we really need.' Therefore,  official Ankara is using the prospect of opening its borders as bait  to extract further concessions from Armenia," the expert explained.

As Geghamyan noted, in terms of effectiveness, this is a much better  tool than opening the border itself.  This is precisely why, he said,  since the 44-day war in 2020, the de facto Armenian authorities have  been making new concessions to Turkey and Azerbaijan daily, yet the  issue of opening the borders and unblocking roads remains unresolved.  "Turkey is using the border issue as a tool of diplomatic and  political pressure. It's no coincidence that for six years now, only  pointless Armenian-Turkish meetings and discussions have been taking  place, while the borders have not opened. The goal of all this  propaganda is to create the illusion in Armenian society that 'the  border will open soon' and 'we will live well.' Meanwhile, in  reality, Armenia is making new concessions," the Turkologist  emphasized.

In this regard, he urged people not to succumb to Turkish propaganda,  noting that it is harmful not only to health but also to security. To  support his words, he recalled the fate of Syria. "In 2009, the  people of Syria rejoiced when the borders with Turkey finally opened  and visa requirements were lifted. Exactly a year and a half later,  terrorists invaded Syria through Turkish territory, coordinated by  Turkey, across those very same open borders, plunging the giant Arab  state into a war from which it has yet to emerge, despite the  territorial and human losses," the expert concluded.

As a reminder, Serdar K?l?c, Turkey's special representative in the  negotiations on the normalization of relations between Armenia and  Turkey, announced in January 2024 that Armenia and Turkey had reached  an agreement to give new impetus to efforts to open the border to  third-country nationals.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced the launch of the  normalization process on December 13, 2021. He also emphasized that  Ankara would act in coordination with Azerbaijan regarding steps to  normalize relations with Armenia. Several rounds of talks between the  special representatives of Armenia and Turkey have since taken place.  The parties agreed to open the border to third-country citizens back  in the summer of 2022, but the border remains inoperative.