Forecast: "Air" agreements between Ankara and Yerevan will be  followed by agreements "on the ground"

ArmInfo.The essence of the agreements reached between Armenia and Turkey on July 1 is to prepare for the establishment of land communications, and subsequently the  Armenian-Turkish relations in general. An expert in the field of  energy security, Ph.D. Vahe Davtyan, expressed a similar opinion to  ArmInfo.

On July 1, the fourth meeting of the Special Representatives of  Armenia and Turkey, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia  Ruben Rubinyan and Ambassador Serdar Kilic took place in Vienna.   During the meeting, the parties agreed to open the land border for  citizens of third countries. An agreement was also reached to  establish Armenia-Turkey air cargo transportation as soon as  possible.

"In other words, here we are talking more about a purely political  than a purely economic effect. And I do not think that the  establishment of direct air cargo transportation with Turkey is in  the interests of Armenia.  If only for the reason, that importing oil  products, citrus fruits and textiles to Armenia by air is  economically unreasonable. Because there are no perishable goods  imported from Turkey to Armenia, which are usually transported "by  air", he stressed.

Recalling that over the past quarter of a century, Armenia has  imported goods worth $3 billion from Turkey, while exporting goods  worth only $60 million, and 90% of the goods imported from Turkey to  Armenia are finished products, and only 10% are raw materials, the  expert noted, that any possible changes from these new decisions will  not work in favor of Armenia.  

"Given the ill-conceived nature of the current economic policy of  Armenia, I am convinced that these proportions of exports and imports  between Armenia and Turkey will remain after Ankara unblocks land  communications. A real economic effect from the open border with  Turkey can be expected only after the radical modernization of our  economy, based on a fundamentally new concept, an economic  development strategy that will allow us to determine the appropriate  export vectors and, accordingly, the priorities of local industrial  production," Davtyan summed up.