ArmInfo. During the ongoing process of negotiations with Turkey, Armenia must remain firmly committed to its red lines and in no case cross them. Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, Turkologist Ruben Safrastyan, expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo.
"The Armenian Genocide, its recognition, the Artsakh problem, the Treaty of Kars - all these issues and problems are connected by strong threads with the identity of the Armenian people, moreover, not only in Armenia and Artsakh, but also in the Diaspora. In this light, I consider it necessary to take into account the interests of our compatriots in the Diaspora, among other issues, during the negotiations. I think that it would be nice for our authorities to discuss with the Diaspora the progress of the negotiation process with Turkey," he said.
The first meeting of the special representatives in the process of normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey took place on January 14 in Moscow. Yerevan was represented by Vice-Speaker of the Parliament Ruben Rubinyan, Ankara by former Ambassador to the USA Serdar Kilic. At the end of the meeting, the Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Turkey issued approximately the same statements about the constructive atmosphere of the negotiations. The second meeting of the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey will take place on February 24 in Vienna.
Against this background, the academician noted the lack of reliable information in the public space about the course and agenda of the negotiation process with Turkey. He also stressed that neither he nor, as far as he knows, his colleagues, experts on Turkey, were involved in consultations with representatives of the Foreign Ministry on the issue of negotiations with Turkey.
Assessing the situation with the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, the Turkologist considered it difficult for Armenia, especially in the light of Azerbaijan's increasingly closer integration with Turkey, through the "Shusha" (Shushi) declaration, which has already been ratified by the Ankara and Baku parliaments, until they acquire the status of a union state. According to the academician's forecasts, this declaration is a step leading Turkey and Azerbaijan along the pan-Turkic path. And in this sense, Ankara and Baku strive to serve as an example for other Turkic-speaking states.
"The ratification of the "Shusha' declaration, in fact, gives legitimacy to the already existing agreement between Ankara and its steps in the direction of Armenia with Baku. Thus, our negotiators need to take into account that, in the person of Turkey, they are dealing with Azerbaijan, which creates additional threats for Armenia "One way or another, the Turks and Azerbaijanis will not give up the joint goal of seeing Artsakh as part of Azerbaijan. And they will try to achieve this with all their might, which is unacceptable for us. In light of which, I personally do not see any special prospects for Armenia in the current process of normalizing relations with Turkey," Safrastyan summed up.