ArmInfo.Armenia is now at the most unfavorable starting point for negotiations over normalization of relations with Turkey, Ruben Melkonyan, Professor at the Department of Oriental Studies, Yerevan State University, told ArmInfo.
"The last decades have seen several attempts to normalize relations between Yerevan and Ankara. Negotiations have been held with different intensiveness, but Armenia has never before been on such a shaky ground at the negotiations and, of course, with negotiators who are far from being professionals. To understand it, you can just consider the different 'weights' of the Armenian and Turkish special representatives. In this context, I consider Ruben Rubinyan`s appointment rather problematic," Mr Melkonyan said.
RA Parliament Vice-Speaker Ruben Rubinyan, 31-year-old Board member of the ruling Civil Contract party, has been appointed Armenia`s special representative to the negotiations with Turkey, whereas Turkey will be represented by 63-year-old Serdar Kilic, a professional diplomat and ex-ambassador of Turkey to Lebanon, Japan and the United Sates, ex-secretary of the National Security Council of Turkey. In this context, Prof. Melkonyan warns against underestimating the Turkish school of diplomacy. According to him, Turkish diplomacy is one of the pillars of the Turkish nationhood. Ensuring the continuity of the Turkish diplomatic traditions, this school has formed highly professional diplomatic corps, with Serdar Kilic one of its best representatives, Prof. Melkonyan said.
With this being so, Armenia followed the principle of party affiliation rather than of professional approach in appointing its special representative - a person with a very short professional career. Moreover, he has rather problematic approaches to Armenian national interests, the expert said. "Such representation of Armenia in the forthcoming processes involving Turkey and such approaches by the country`s leadership cannot defend even the minimum of our national interests. In this context, I regard the process that has been launched as posing threats and incapable of bringing any benefit to Armenia," Mr Melkonyan said.