Epress.am News from Armenia
The establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey and the initiation of dialogue in the mental space of the post-Soviet area is being called “Project USA,” while such perception of the process is not only the center of expert review, but also reflects the official position of Armenian political leadership, said Caucasus Center of Peace-Making Initiatives Chair Georgi Vanyan in a recent interview with 1news.az.
According to him, the normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations stems from the need to reduce tension in the region and ensure regional security.
“This is a process that for many years was artificially constrained on the basis of Armenia’s foreign policy ideology, as well as the monopoly of the political function of the OSCE Minsk Group, connected with negotiations on settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” he said.
The different perceptions of this process in Armenia and Turkey is the main obstacle to normalizing relations, he said. The parties are at different levels of democratic development and sovereignty, and for this reason, what is policy for Turkey is for Armenia just another “imposed process,” where the issue is not the display of political will, but the expectation of how “the cards will fall,” said Vanyan.
“The only factor that can equalize the opportunities of the parties is the vital importance and vital interest for Armenia to withdraw from exclusion and be free of provincial nationalism,” he said.
[Editor’s Note: translation in last paragraph slightly modified from “‘The only factor that can equalize the opportunities of the parties of vital importance and vital interest is for Armenia to withdraw from exclusion and be free of provincial nationalism,’ he said.” to “‘The only factor that can equalize the opportunities of the parties is the vital importance and vital interest for Armenia to withdraw from exclusion and be free of provincial nationalism,’ he said.” on Oct. 19, 2010.]