"Victor Nadein-Raevsky: Turkey’s steps to normalize relations with Armenia not window-dressing
15:04 / 09/21/2009
Below is an interview with Victor Nadein-Raevsky, Senior Research Fellow, PhD, the Institute of World Economy and International Relations, RF Academy of Sciences.
Question: Mr. Raevsky, Armenia and Turkey have made a historic attempt of rapprochement, which is supposed to result in the normalization of bilateral relations. How sincere is Turkey in this process? How much is it interested in success?
Answer: Turkey is implementing a multi-pronged policy, which is not so transparent as they would like to show it. On the other hand, it is a multi-pronged blow. It is a blow on the traditional stereotypes of the Turkish state and society. It is a rather complicated process, which has to be “played back” from time to time because of Azerbaijan’s position and various approaches displayed by the Turkish Establishment. There is not a complete accord. However, the most important question is: what is the aim of the struggle? First of all, it is Europe — a desire to carve out a niche for negotiations and eventually be admitted to the European Union (EU). Turkey never pushes this priority to the background, which is most important."
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