More than Turkish Armenians, Ethnic Turks have Interest in Business with Armenia: Expert

Turkey, through applying trade sanctions against Armenia, intends to influence the resolution of issues between Armenia and Azerbaijan, though the sanctions aren’t producing the desired result, said Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council (TABDC) co-chair Kaan Soyak, in an interview with Vesti.az.

According to Soyak, despite the economic embargo imposed by Turkey, Turkish businessmen have always delivered and deliver goods to Armenia through Georgia.

Soyak noted that it is the Turks and not Turkish Armenians who have more of an interest in establishing business relations with Armenia.

“About 80% of entrepreneurs who do business in Armenia are ethnic Turks and only 20% are Armenians who live in Turkey,” he said.

“Entrepreneurs who have businesses in Armenia are divided into several categories. Some wanted to export their products to Armenia, others sought new markets for their goods, and others had just set up their business and couldn’t withstand the competition in Russian and Azerbaijani markets. I haven’t seen a single entrepreneur in all these years who was unhappy with trade relations with Armenia. Almost all the entrepreneurs are satisfied with their business,” Soyak said.

The Turkish businessman also shared his impressions from a visit to the de-facto republic of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2006.

Asked if he knew that without official permission from Baku he is prohibited from entering Azerbaijan after visiting Nagorno-Karabakh, Soyak said: “Well even before visiting Karabakh, they weren’t particularly waiting for me in Azerbaijan since my activities are aimed at bringing Armenians and Turks closer. Let me say once again that, despite this, I myself have no business relations with Armenia…”