Armenia must have denounced the protocols long ago

Says editor of the Armenian pages of the Istanbul “Agos” newspaper Bagrat Esdugyan.

 –       One of the Armenian experts said that the presidential election in Turkey marked the end of the Armenian-Turkish protocols. The rationale was specifically the following that it is possible that new figures will appear in the Turkish parliament that will deal with supervising the Armenian-Turkish process. In your opinion, how much is such definition reasonable?

–       I do not think this is quite right, since the Prime Minister is the same Prime Minister. That Prime Minister has already stated that without Azerbaijan’s will, without the solution in the Turkish interest of the Karabakh issue, the border cannot be opened. Therefore, the solution in the Turkish interest is not possible either. In my opinion, Armenia should have denounced the protocols long ago. After that statement of the Prime Minister that listening to your Prime Minister, this issue is closed for us and the closed border is your problem, it would have been good if we had taken that step. We are not the one who closed the border, if you want to open it then open it. This is their isolation. Yes, they are isolating and we suffer from that, but at the end of the day, it is their isolation in the political sense, they are the one who closed the border. We do not even have to negotiate, since the border was not closed through negotiating.

–       In your opinion, why does Turkey not declare its signature on the protocols invalid, particularly considering the fact that Erdogan makes such statements?

–       It will cost him greatly, he will be blamed. Not only Armenians and Turks signed the protocols; the ministers of foreign affairs of Switzerland, America and Russia were behind them, and they should explain it to everybody. The Armenians do not have to explain anything now. And if we even say take this protocols and go away, we are not harmed, but they cannot say the same thing now.

–       The Justice and Development Party does not have the qualified majority in the parliament, maybe that is how the above-mentioned expertise that maybe the new figures have a different approach to supervising the Armenian-Turkish processes is explained  .

–       There is no such ground. There is no inclination to that. They stopped the negotiations with the Council of Europe too and they do not put any effort to restart it. If they put such an effort into that, I think they should solve this issue along with that one, since the EU is anxious about the border issue too. However, they do not do any work in that regard either.

–       When they were signing the protocols, the Armenians living in Turkey were quite excited about the process.

–       Yes.

–       However, you are the first man I hear such a strong statement from that Armenia must denounce those protocols.

–       I was against the negotiations then too with the same rationale, since the border was not closed through negotiations and mutual agreement. Therefore, why an agreement is needed for opening? Turkey closed the border with a unilateral decision, let it open with the same unilateral decision; we do not prevent it in any way.

–       If we compare the gains and losses that will Armenia gain from taking back its signature on the protocols?

–       It would be favorable for Armenia to get rid of the isolation; this is obvious. However, there is another thing of the same importance, the dignity of the people. The dignity of all the Armenian people is drowned. That step would improve our dignity.

–       Why do we have to look at their faces, in order they open the border and we do commerce. The commerce is already there, though, the trucks come along the long route, and the traffic expenses are more. However, we are not brought to our knees as a country, as they thought we would. In 1993, they thought that they could bring us to our knees by the isolation. 20 years have passed; we are not on our knees.