Turkey's nervousness with respect to Clinton's visit to Armenian Genocide Memorial is reasoned by internal policy

July 6, 2010 - 14:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Director of the Caucasus Institute, political analyst Alexander Iskandaryan said that Turkey's "irritation" with respect to Hillary Clinton's visit to the Armenian Genocide Memorial is quite logic and explainable. Parliamentary elections will be held in Turkey in a year, while the internal situation is tense there, Iskandaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

"The attitude towards Armenia and Armenians plays a significant role in the inter-party struggle, that's why the visit was accepted rather nervously," the expert said.

As for the worsened relations with Israel, Iskandaryan noted that Turkey is trying to play its own role in the region.

"During the Soviet era, Turkey was an outpost of the U.S. and NATO. Currently the situation has changed, and Ahmet Davutoglu's words - "zero problems with neighbors" - mean that Ankara will be building its own relations with the neighboring countries.

However, to play a significant role in the Near East, Turkey needs to be an enemy of Israel. To gain its place in the Arab world, Turkey should worsen its relation with the Jewish state. Nevertheless, it will not result in cutting ties," concluded Alexander Iskandaryan.