August 25, 2009 - 17:26 AMT
Ankara gains no profit from suspending the dialogue with Yerevan
Suspension of the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation contradict to the interests of Turkey itself, Karen Bekaryan , chairman of the "European Integration" NGO told journalists in Yerevan. According to him, "If Turkey wants to become a regional power, it must understand that it will be impossible as long as it is in a bad relationship with its neighboring countries. Besides, Turkey faces today much more difficult problems than the issue of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations, particularly the Cyprus problem, the Kurdish problem. All these issues affect its EU accession, " the Armenian expert said.

In this context, according to Karen Bekaryan, Turkey implements a policy simulation not in respect to the Armenian-Turkish process, but rather to the process of European integration of the country.

"Ankara is trying in every possible way to show the EU that it has made progress in several issues, and if at the moment this progress is not observed in Cyprus or the Kurdish processes, then it must be notable in the Armenian-Turkish relations," Karen Bekaryan said.

Mr. Bekaryan stressed he fact that over the last years, the Turkish authorities have not taken any steps to help the Turkish society become more tolerant towards Armenia. Despite Ankara's simulation policy, the Armenian expert still believes that it is necessary to establish relations with Turkey.