April 13, 2009 - 18:54 AMT
If Turkey sets preconditions, Yerevan can do the same
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement that the Armenian-Turkish border will not be opened before resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict can bring Armenian-Turkish talks to a dead end, ARF Dashnaktsutyun Political Affairs and Hat Dat Office director said.

"If Turkey sets preconditions, Yerevan can do the same," Kiro Manoyan told a news conference in Yerevan today.

The most important thing is establishment of diplomatic relations. Opening of the border is a secondary matter, according to him.

"On the one hand, Turkey doesn't want to spoil relations with Islamic world; on the other hand, it doesn't want to be Azerbaijan's eternal hostage," Mr. Manoyan said, adding that AFR Dashnaktsutyun has developed a substantiation report on consequences of opening of the Armenian-Turkish border.