ArmInfo.Moscow's goal is its military presence in all the three states of the South Caucasus, Giro Manoyan, a member of the ARF Bureau, told ArmInfo.
"Russia's military presence in all the countries of the South Caucasus is in Moscow's interests. In this context, I do not see any logic in Russia being interested in a thaw in the Armenian-Turkish relations. This last-named thing is, beyond doubt, in conflict with Moscow's interests. After all, the reason for the Russian military presence in Armenia, Russian Military Base 102 in Gyumri, is Turkey's threat to Armenia," he said.
As regards the negotiations between the Armenian and Turkish special envoys commenced in Moscow, Russia, Mr Manoyan does not at all expect the hour-and-a-half-long negotiations to cause any changes in Ankara's official policy of the last three decades. Moreover, the current negotiations are a "screening" of some of the agreements reached between Yerevan and Ankara.
The Armenian and Turkish special envoys for normalization of relations held their first meeting in Moscow, Russia, on January 14. Parliament Vice-Speaker Ruben Rubinyan represented Armenia, with Turkey represented by the ex-ambassador to the USA Serdar Kilic. Following the meeting, the Armenian and Turkish foreign office released similar statements on a constructive atmosphere at the negotiations. In its turn, the Russian foreign office stated that the parties showed their readiness to conduct a non-political and constructive dialogue.
In this context, Mr Manoyan commented on the Turkish president's statements at his meeting with the EU member-states' ambassadors. Recep Erdogan's statements that Armenia needs an "accurate assessment" of the prospects for normalizing its relations with Turkey are evidence of another precondition being set to Armenian, namely, the notorious "Zangezur corridor."
"Our foreign office is claiming the absence of preconditions during the first meeting of the special representatives. So let the Turkish foreign office make a similar statement just once. All this is part of a performance based on a prepared script - a script prepared in Ankara, but not in Moscow, much less so in Washington. In any case, irrespective of persons, Armenia's incumbent authorities may not nor must they negotiate with Turkey, because they lost war to Turkey and Azerbaijan," Mr Manoyan said.