Baku Will Do Utmost to Isolate Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - From the standpoint of national security the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border will not bring special problems to Armenia, U.S. expert Richard Giragosian told a news conference in Yerevan. "If Turkey becomes an EU member state by the time of opening of the border Armenia will be more secure than earlier. In general, with Turkey's accession to the EU a number of problems will be settled for Armenia. Turkey will have to open the border, weaken the positions of the General Staff and strengthen civil control over the army. More and more people in Turkey come to understand that presently Baku does its utmost to prevent the Armenian-Turkish dialogue and leave Armenia in isolation," the expert said.



He also noted that from the economic point of view, the Armenian business will suffer losses at first. "However, the situation will change rapidly. I do not think that opening of the border can have a serious impact on Armenia's security. There are things that cannot be blocked by borders, for example the avian influenza. As a matter of fact, opening of the Armenian-Turkish border is impossible without establishment of diplomatic relations and everyone knows it," Giragosian said.