Turkey achieving its goals step by step - Ruben Melkonyan

ArmInfo. Ankara's accepting Yerevan's proposal for opening the border for holders of diplomatic passports will be welcomed as a positive step, Dean of the Faculty of  Oriental Studies, Yerevan State University, Professor Ruben Melkonyan  said in an interview with ArmInfo.

"Unlike the mythical positive messages by Ankara being declared by  Armenia's government, such a change in boundary regime will prove  evidence of Turkey's changing its 'obsolete approaches.' It would be  a real sign in favor of Turkey's intentions to reopen the border, to  say nothing of the fact that it would greatly facilitate the  Armenian-Turkish negotiations," Mr Melkonyan said. 

However, Ankara's tortuous behavior is evidence of its reluctance to  address even tone positive messages to Yerevan. Instead, Turkey  prefers simulation as it is pushing ahead with its own long-standing  and precondition-based policy toward Armenia. 

Against this inability to even a token gesture, Mr Melkonyan views  the Turkish FM's appeal to Armenia to "display more courage" as one  more manifestation of Turkey's hypocrisy. One of the reasons for such  hypocritical statements is Turkey's desire to organize the Special  Envoys' next meeting in Yerevan or in Ankara, not in Vienna. 

"The second major reason is Turkey being well aware of the sentiments  in Armenia and of the redlines in the context of prospects for  normalization of relation with Turkey. Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu is  thus calling on Armenia's leadership to display more courage and  cross the redlines. That would be a real blow to our national  identity and nationhood, which had for years been Turkey's target.  And all the latest statements - which are, in fact, pro-Turkish and  pro-Azerbaijani ones - the ruling forces members have made in  Parliament are evidence of Turkey achieving its goals step by step,"  Mr Melkonyan said.