It Seemed that Border Would Open Any Day Now: Serzh Sargsyan

The Armenia-Turkey border being closed is damaging to the entire region, said Armenia President Serzh Sargsyan in an interview with a Ukrainian TV station, reports ARCA news agency. 

“The closed border, in the first place, is a political and economic problem, in which not only Armenia, but also Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and, generally, the entire region suffers,” said Sargsyan.

In his opinion, the closed border, however, is not a reason to surrender or announce that Armenia doesn’t have a good future. 

“Our business owners have already adapted to these conditions. As for the fact that there are no Turkish products in Armenia and vice-versa [no Armenian goods in Turkey], that’s not true. Business is business and it knows all the ways of development,” he said. 

Speaking on Armenia-Turkey relations, Serzh Sargsyan in the beginning of talks relations were developing in such a way that it seemed that the border would open any day now; however, after the signing of the Protocols, Turkey began to retreat and didn’t ratify them in parliament.