Turkey November 17 became an official member of the Byurakan Regional  Astronomical Center

ArmInfo.November 17, 2017 Turkey became an official member of Byurakan Astronomical Center named after  Victor Hambartsumyan.

Ateg Mikaelyan, Director of the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory,  said at the press conference that at the moment, Georgia, Iran,  Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and now Turkey are also members of the  South-West and Central Asian Center. Also, according to Mikaelyan,  Turkey's membership in this center is not only a scientific, but also  an important political event.

Mikaelyan said that scientists should be the mediators of peace and,  despite the contradictions between countries, science should develop.   "Subsequently, this cooperation will develop scientific progress and  can grow into friendship," the director of the Byurakan Astrophysical  Observatory said.

Talking to journalists, Mikaelyan said that Turkey's membership in  the Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory strengthens Armenia's position  in the region. "At the moment, there are 9 regional astronomical  centers in the world, one of which is located in Armenia.We created  our leading regional center thanks to the consent of Georgia and  Iran, since they first joined Armenia, Armenia became the center of  the South-West region, and in Last year, after Kazakhstan and  Tajikistan joined us, the region became known as South-West and  Central Asia. Previously, Turkey was out of the game on this issue,  but they realized that they want progress in astronomy, and finally  joined.This is an important event for us and from a political point  of view, since at least in some area Turkey recognizes the advantage  of Armenia.  Thus, this is the first and very important step for  Armenia both scientifically and politically " ,  Mikaelyan concluded.

Sinan Alish, representative of the astronomical community of  Istanbul, in his conversation with journalists noted that earlier  cooperation with Armenia in this area was passive, and now, when  Armenia became the center of astronomy in the region, it became  possible to develop cooperation. "Astronomy is also actively  developing in Turkey, in particular, in Erzrum, which previously had  close ties with Armenia.Now, Erzurum is installing a 4-meter  telescope that will be the largest in the region.Today, Iran is also  installing a telescope at 3.5 meters, which also contributes to the  regional development of astronomy, "Alish noted. He also stressed  that in 2018, Erzrum will open a summer astronomical school. There  will be invited students from Armenia, all costs will be incurred by  the Turkish side. Sinan Alish, added that this was not his first  visit to Armenia.