Journalist Tatul Hakobyan stated on his Facebook page that “Armenia’s path to independence, as harsh as it may sound, runs through Turkey,” highlighting the regional roles of Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Russia.
According to him, Armenia must cooperate with Russia by “taking constructive steps on our side.”
“Azerbaijan, in my view, is re-engaging with Armenia through Western platforms to send a message to Putin and challenge Russia’s influence.
We, as Armenia, should not expect any strategic benefit from a Baku-Moscow rivalry.
We must work with Russia by taking constructive actions. Russia still has the capacity to dismantle our economy unless we diversify it.
Azerbaijan will not sign a peace treaty with Armenia. It might sign interim documents, but will continue extracting concessions from us as long as it senses we’re still vulnerable.
Yet even if a memorandum between Armenia and Azerbaijan is signed, I would consider it an important step, because Turkey could then open its border and establish diplomatic relations with Armenia.
Armenia’s path to independence, as harsh as it may sound, runs through Turkey,” he wrote.
*On August 8, U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to host Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the White House. Individual meetings will be followed by a trilateral summit.
A senior White House official, speaking anonymously to The Washington Post, said a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan might be announced during the meeting with Trump.*
