Ankara and Baku’s interest have split, said prof. Ruben Safrastyan, director of RA NAS Institute of Oriental Studies.
“With the launch of football diplomacy, relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey have strained. The countries can’t agree the price for gas to be imported to Turkey,” he told a news conference on Monday.
Prof. Safrastyan also emphasized that Armenia should develop a serious diplomatic strategy on Turkey. “There is a need for new initiatives on our part,” he said, adding that the RA NA should not debate the Protocols ahead of the Turkish parliament.
The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.
On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.
