“The ambitious policy of the Turkish authorities will eventually go against Russia. And those who conduct Russia’s foreign policy certainly have the ability to have such an opinion. Today, Turkey is playing a dangerous “dance” by choosing Russia as a couple, and now it is very happy that it is “dancing,” especially that it is using the blackmail factor against the United States in the issue of rapprochement with Russia. Figuratively speaking, the tightrope walker balances on a rope. On one end is the bear’s paw, and on the other is the eagle’s claw, and the tightrope walker tries to keep their balance, so this is very dangerous, because if one of the parties lets go a little, they will roll into the abyss. There are not many people in Turkey who see and realize this. On the contrary, there is a belief that we are an international player, an important player, and even have ambitions for a superpower. Maybe Erdogan really had those ambitions if he could maintain the political position he had at least 10 years ago. However, there were big upheavals in his positions, which will make it difficult to continue such a game,” said Bagrat Estukyan, the editor of the Armenian language pages of the Istanbul-based Agos newspaper, in an interview with Aravot daily.
Bagrat Estukyan, the editor of the Armenian language pages of the Istanbul-based Agos newspaper
We asked Bagrat Estukyan how to believe in the sincerity of the Turkish authorities, noting that the Turkish authorities constantly say that “they have reached out to Armenia for peace,” but there is an impression that Armenia needs that peace the most and that this is a threat in some way, especially since official Ankara continues to “sponsor” Azerbaijan’s demands, for example, the “Zangezur corridor.” “So, the Armenian side must declare that such preconditions are unacceptable, as they threaten the territorial integrity of our country. We have no problem with bargaining here, these are rejected statements. We need to talk about the need to unblock transport routes and have open borders like all civilized countries. If Turkish trucks want to deliver goods to Azerbaijan, let them get permission to pass through Armenia. In other words, if there is to be a blockade of the transport communication routes, let it be done as it is done in the case of all interstate borders, and not cross through the territory of Armenia freely,” he mentioned.
Emma GABRIELYAN
