March 31, 2011 - 13:35 AMT
Expert: Turkey would gladly exchange Armenian cause for Karabakh conflict

Head of the political studies department at the Caucasus Institute, political analyst Sergey Minasyan said the statement by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that Turkey once asked Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to return one or two liberated territories to Azerbaijan to save Azerbaijan’s face once again proves that the Karabakh problem is not among Turkey’s priorities.

Minasyan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter that a similar suggestion could be made. “Factually, Baku’s acknowledging the loss of Karabakh has become the price for saving Ilham Aliyev’s face, since the final recognition of Nagorno Karabakh’s independence would have been evident in the Armenian-Turkish normalization and opening of borders in one package,” he said.

For Turkey, the Armenian Genocide is the most important issue in its normalization with Armenia, and Turkey would gladly exchange the Armenian cause for the Karabakh conflict, he said.

The Armenian expert noted that there is nothing strange in Armenia’s rejection of the offer, with what Davutoglu was displeased.