Armenia Has Never Been Against and Should Not Be Against Normalizing Relations with Turkey: MP

Armenia has never been against and, in fact, should not be against normalizing relations with Turkey; however, the devil is in the details—how, in what manner, and at what cost.

This was stated by Arthur Ghazinyan, an MP from the 'Armenia' faction, during a speech in the National Assembly while discussing the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations.

According to the MP, it is abnormal that the borders between Armenia and Turkey have been closed for about 30 years, and the countries do not have diplomatic relations, which needs to be resolved. However, Ghazinyan emphasized that the signals Armenia is receiving from Azerbaijan do not indicate that there is a desire in Turkey to see a strong Armenian statehood, a prosperous Armenian nation, and a robust Armenian identity.

“We should keep a well-known Armenian saying in mind: 'Make friends with the dog, but don’t drop the stick from your hand.' But we have dropped the stick from our hands, and we have no facts left; this is the problem,” he said, adding that relations should be normalized, but nonetheless, the existential threat hangs over the Armenian people.