However, according to the expert, it was possible to send a low-level official
It has already been known that the inauguration ceremony of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a new President of Turkey scheduled on August 28 was also attended by Foreign Minister of Armenia, Edward Nalbandyan. Recall that this is the first time when Armenia receives an invitation from Turkey to attend such a ceremony. To the question of “Aravot” as to what extent it was right to accept the invitation to attend this ceremony, former Foreign Minister of Armenia, Alexander Arzumanyan, was reluctant to answer. “It’s a clear procedural matter, and it does not need any interpretation.”
Turkologist Hakob Chakryan finds that our Foreign Minister’s participation is a very right move. “There are no established relations between Armenia and Turkey, and we should not aggravate what is missing, making it minus, it will not be for the benefit of Armenia. I think that participating is correct. This is the first time that there was an invitation, and Armenia should not refuse. Our foreign minister is not going to sign any contract, and so on, this is a purely procedural invitation, and our foreign minister is going to attend this ceremony along with many other countries’ leaders and the foreign ministers. In any case, it is not to the determent of Armenia to participate, especially when there is nothing binding in the visit. But should they had not attended, this fact would be widely used in the international arena by Turkey to show that allegedly Armenia is conducting a policy of hostility against Turkey.”
To our question of whether such moves could result in establishment of diplomatic relations, and whether Edward Nalbandyan’s visit to Ankara could result in the fact that Erdoğan would also accept Serzh Sargsyan’s invitation and visit Armenia on April 23-24, on the 100th anniversary of Genocide, the expert answered, “Serzh Sargsyan’s invitation and the invitation by Erdoğan significantly different from each other, we should not associate one with the other. Leaders of various countries attend Erdoğan’s inauguration ceremony, this should be considered as a procedural invitation. Whereas Serzh Sargsyan’s invitation is a kind of personal invitation. But, frankly speaking, hardly Erdoğan would have such a desire to come to Armenia, because being here he would become a target of attacks in his country, and it would be speculated for a too long. As long as Turkey has not officially abandoned its policy of denying the Armenian Genocide, he would not come, and I do not see the aspirations to abandon this denial policy. Regarding the establishment of diplomatic relations, I do not think that such moves would lead to the establishment of relations, they may create preconditions, but with no outcome. Nevertheless, they enable possibilities of communication without establishment of diplomatic relations. In this sense, they are important.”
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The expert of the Regional Research Centre, also Project Manager, Haykak Arshamyan, viewed the issue from a little different perspective. “If not for the recent Armenophobic statement by Erdoğan, when he said, “they said I am Georgian. …they have said even uglier things, they have called me Armenian,” I would look good in everything, I would say that it normal both the invitation and accepting the invitation, these are bipartite moves… but if the head of a country hurts the your ethnic dignity at this level, and after all you decide that Armenia should be introduced in his inauguration by the level of the Foreign Minister, it is not viewed well. It is not the first time that Erdoğan is making Armenophobic statements prior to the election to recruit electorates, and to gain the sympathy of the voters, this is a PR move, maybe he does not even think about is, but he does it. However, this was an insult to ethnic dignity, and a tough answer should be given to it. At least, we should not send the Foreign Minister but another official of a lower category. Or at least, if Nalbandyan is going, he’d better respond to this statement in any form.” To our question of whether Serzh Sargsyan’s response to Erdoğan was not enough saying that “it would also be offensive for Armenian if it suddenly would turn out that Erdoğan is Armenian”, maybe it is considered that with this they so-called are “quits”, our interlocutor answered, “If Erdoğan’s made this level statements leave a great trace on him as a politician and a country leader, so is in the case of Serzh Sargsyan, if he represents a country and is making such a statement, then it does not contribute to the dialogue, and I do not also think that it was an equivalent response. I think it was wrong for him to make such a statement.” To our question of whether he associates Erdoğan’s invitation with the earlier invitation sent to him by Serzh Sargsyan to attend the ceremonies of 100th anniversary of Genocide, Haykak Arshamyan replied, “Of course, it is associated with it, it is definitely associated with the 100th anniversary of Genocide and also with new development of relations between Armenia and Turkey.”
Melania BARSEGHYAN
