Armenia is both a hostage and a key to the frozen instability in the South Caucasus, Russia, Rector of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations Anatoly Torkunov said during a conference on Armenia's geo-political role in modern international relations in Yerevan on Saturday.
He said that the efforts to overcome old historical complexes might be the best way to defuse the political-psychological tension and to improve the general climate in the region.
"Armenian-Turkish high-level contacts became a real sensation and a source of hope for the world community. This is a hard road, but it is worth the effort," Torkunov said.
On Oct 10 2009 the Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers signed protocols for establishing diplomatic relations and developing bilateral ties. The protocols were supposed to be ratified by the national parliaments. On Apr 22 2010 the Armenian President stopped the ratification process saying that Turkey was not ready to ratify the protocols. In Aug 2011 the protocols were removed from the Turkish Parliament's agenda. In Oct 2013 the Turkish Prime Minister sent them back to the Parliament without specifying when they should be ratified.