“Yerevan’s initiative to invite Turkish president to Armenia and start negotiations for establishment of diplomatic relation and opening borders with Turkey is not a pre-planned program but an attempt to create an acceptable atmosphere, enabling a dialogue between neighboring countries,” RA President Serzh Sargsyan said in an interview with Vesti TV channel.
“In the past, there were some unsuccessful attempts at normalizing relations both on Turkey’s and Armenia’s side. Even now there’s no 100% guarantee for RA-Turkish rapprochement to succeed,” the President stated. According to Serzh Sargsyan, both in Armenia and Turkey there are some forces wishing to wreck the process. “Some third parties also have such forces. Yet, as opposed to previous attempts at rapprochement, current one is based on openness and publicity,” he emphasized.
There’s a lot of mistrust and enmity between Armenian and Turkish societies, resulting from Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire. Normalization of ties requires political will of RA and Turkish authorities, as well as people’s involvement in the process.
Serzh Sargsyan reminded that by the initial agreement between Yerevan and Ankara, no preconditions should have been set.
“I believe, Armenian Genocide recognition can’t be a precondition for RA-Turkish rapprochement. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have started the process. Should negotiations be successful, leading to establishment of relations and opening of borders, we’ll gain more support. If RA and Turkey fail to agree, more criticism will follow. Still, whatever I do, I do it with assurance, working in accord with my team,” RA President stated.
