Thursday, December 21 2017 15:16

ArmInfo.In the context of relations with Armenia, I can say with all certainty that in reality, Turkey is not interested in Artsakh, but about the energy resources  of Azerbaijan and the preservation of its influence on Baku. A  similar opinion was expressed by ArmInfo scientist of the Institute  of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, political  scientist Alexander Skakov.

On October 10, 2009 in Zurich Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers  signed the "Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations"  and the "Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations." The  documents should be ratified by the parliaments of the two countries,  however, on April 22, 2010, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, having  signed the decree on suspension of ratification of the protocols,  actually froze this process.

"Moreover, from the regional powers neighboring to Artsakh, the real  interest is shown not so much by Turkey as Iran, as regards the  unrecognized republic, I find that in the issue of establishing  relations with Armenia, in addition to Turkey's desire or  unwillingness, there is also a principally categorical position of  Azerbaijan, and Baku periodically reinforces its "against"  opportunities and levers at its disposal, including tariff and  energy, "the political scientist said.

Skakov, in particular, does not consider possible the progress in the  establishment of Armenian-Turkish relations right now, given the  attempts to improve the communication between Turkey and Azerbaijan  through the commissioning of the Baku-Tbilisi-Akhalkalaki-Kars  railway.

At the same time, the political scientist considers the return of  Armenia and Turkey to the issue of normalization of relations quite  probable. According to him, the problem of establishing relations  between Yerevan and Ankara will remain relevant, the whole issue in  terms of the appearance of the necessary geopolitical changes for  this.

On December 13, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian announced  Armenia's readiness to "meet the spring of 2018 without the  Armenian-Turkish protocols," explaining this by the groundlessness of  the preconditions put forward by Ankara, contradicting the essence of  the protocols. On December 14, Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkish Foreign  Minister, announced Ankara's commitment to the Armenian-Turkish  protocols, describing the statements of the Armenian counterpart as  "not reflecting reality and aimed at misleading the international  community."