Ankara is preparing for new games with Armenia, according to a Russian expert.
In an article commenting on the Turkish Council of Ministers' recent move to return the Armenia-Turkey Protocols to parliament, political analyst Stanislav Tarasov says he finds nothing extraordinary about the fact given that Turkey has not withdrawn its signatures from the documents.
Referring to a recent statement by Baku State University Professor Rustam Mamedov, who considered the protocols a bygone era for Turkey, the author finds his forecasts groundless.
"Let’s first of all note that the Turkish media say the country is demonstrating a good gesture to Armenia by returning the Protocols to the parliament. On the other hand, it is undoubtedly a kind of signal to Azerbaijan that Ankara's further relations with Azerbaijan will be based on the Armenian trump card," he says.
The analyst notes further that suspending the rapprochement with Armenia has becomes an important tactical issue for Turkey, especially in view of the country's current tension with Israel. In that connection he quotes Azerbaijani expert Rizvan Huseynov as saying that political circles in Turkey are resuming active discussions on the Protocols despite Turkish top officials' statements that the issue is pulled from the country's political agenda.
"Turkey's idea to re-establish ties with Armenia may positively affect its dialogue with Europe given that the country has broken off its relationship with Cyprus and Greece because of the continental offshore. Besides, Turkey may use it as a trump card in case Azerbaijan backs away from Turkey and takes sides with Israel," Tarasov says.
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