Turkologist and expert in oriental studies, Ruben Safrastyan, commented on the recent statement by the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister. Note that on November 20, in Turkey, at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Şimşek had said that Turkey will open its border with Armenia only if Armenia “ends its occupation of Azerbaijani lands.” Ruben Safrastyan first noted that the message of the statement is not new, in this context, Turkey has always speculated the Artsakh issue. “It is a part of Turkish politics which aims to put pressure on Armenia and to show to Armenia, “See, we are ready to open the border.”
This once again enables Turkey to assert that Artsakh is an Azerbaijani “occupied” territory. Which, however, is not acceptable by many countries in the world,” noted Ruben Safrastyan. Recall, President Serzh Sargsyan had also referred to the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border. Ruben Safrastyan also addressed Koryun Nahapetyan’s speech at the same Assembly, in which he had emphasized the fact of Turkey’s support to Islamists. “It is the true and important approach. We need to draw the world’s attention to the fact that Turkey is supporting the Islamist extremists,” said the speaker. Speaking of the US-Turkey relations, Ruben Safrastyan expressed an opinion that Turkey will take an important place in the US policy, particularly in the Middle East, “The relations between Turkey and the US, in the near future, will rely on the fact that Turkey has an important role in the Middle East. These relations will become free from excessive sentimentality and will maintain their allied nature with the United States.”
Luiza SUKIASYAN
