History hampers Armenian-Turkish dialogue
It's history that hampers Armenian-Turkish dialogue, according to a Turkish expert.
"Armenia has not recognized the Kars and Moscow Treaties' provisions on borders so far, while Turkey sets it as a precondition for establishment of diplomatic relations. True, the declaration on Armenia's independence reads that Armenia doesn't set territorial claims to Turkey. However, Eastern Turkey is fixed there as Western Armenia, what is inadmissible for us," Aybars Gorgulu, expert at Sabanci University and Assistant Program Director of TESEV Foreign Policy Program, said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.
"I would like to remind that article 11 of the declaration says that Armenia supports the campaign for worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, present-day Turkey has nothing in common with the Ottoman Empire and is not its legal successor. In short, recognition of Turkey's borders is an important prerequisite for normalization of bilateral relations," he said.
Full text of the interview
"Armenia has not recognized the Kars and Moscow Treaties' provisions on borders so far, while Turkey sets it as a precondition for establishment of diplomatic relations. True, the declaration on Armenia's independence reads that Armenia doesn't set territorial claims to Turkey. However, Eastern Turkey is fixed there as Western Armenia, what is inadmissible for us," Aybars Gorgulu, expert at Sabanci University and Assistant Program Director of TESEV Foreign Policy Program, said in an interview with PanARMENIAN.Net.
"I would like to remind that article 11 of the declaration says that Armenia supports the campaign for worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Meanwhile, present-day Turkey has nothing in common with the Ottoman Empire and is not its legal successor. In short, recognition of Turkey's borders is an important prerequisite for normalization of bilateral relations," he said.
