Nuh Yilmaz, the head of Turkish political, economic and social research foundation Washington office, had exclusive interview with “Ermenihaber.am” news web site referring to the topic of Armenian-Turkish relations. Read the interview below.
- What significance could you refer to neighbor Armenia?
- We could say Armenia is of two great significances for Turkey.
1. Geo-political significance to contribute to the stability of Caucasus region.
2. Symbolic importance for Turkey to stand for its own history.
Without Armenia, the regime in Caucasus will be poor. That’s why the development in Armenian-Turkish relations is of so great significance to establish stable regime in Caucasus. To reach stable regional development, we need certain steps. No matter what happened in 1915, Turkey needs to release those events. Hence continue searching for the solution of this problem.
- What kind of policy with Armenia do you support?
- I think, we should continue the policy of involving Armenia. First of all it is a settlement of relations and solution of problems. But, of course, this is not only Turkey’s business. The conflict includes Azerbaijan, United States, Russia and France. The policy of that involvement surely is the most useful method.
- Do you think it’s normal that because of Karabakh war, Turkey closed its border with Armenia?
- I don’t think it’s important to study how normal it is. Currently, Turkey can’t exclude Azerbaijan from its ties with Armenia. Hence, without any improvement in Karabakh issue, I don’t think settlement of relations is possible.
- Do you think Turkish Mejlis will ratify the protocols?
- I think, it’s little possible that Mejlis ratifies the protocols. On the eve of June elections, none of Turkish political parties will make any step towards the protocols, especially, when the issue became of in-house political significance in Turkey. But I think it’s possible that after the elections of 2011 that issue will become more intensified.
- What will the development between Armenia and Turkey be like?
- A couple of year ago we didn’t discuss relations with Armenia, now we have protocols to discuss. In fact, this is a valuable development. The normalization process will be continued in the future also. I think Armenian-Turkish ties will be normalized. As for Armenia, I would say, performing wiser would be useful anyway.
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