The normalization of relations with Turkey must be in harmony with the national interest of our state, and in general, of Armenians all over the world – President Sargsyan to ArabNews

Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay said last week that Ankara was working on advancing the dialogue with Armenia, in coordination with Azerbaijan. “Turkey stands not only for the normalization of relations with Armenia, but also for peace and stability in the entire Caucasus,” he said. Turkey has engaged in an array of regional conflicts in recent years, and its economy has now deteriorated to unprecedented levels. Although this is not the first attempt to bridge the rift between the two neighbors, many observers believe Ankara’s political and economic difficulties present a genuine opportunity for Armenia.

So, does Yerevan welcome these developments? Does this Armenian goodwill expressed by its president extend to arch-rival Turkey?

“Armenia is politically divided, especially after the war, as you can imagine,” Sargsyan says. “Every state, when you have a war and you lose the war and there are so many tensions, then it’s not homogeneous in its behavior. I would never say that I speak on behalf of all Armenians.

“I’m the president of a parliamentary republic, I’m the head of state, but I’m not the executive who runs current affairs in the government. It’s the government that has to answer to the Turkish side, and the offer.” It would be wrong for him to comment or judge at this stage, he says.

“Any agreement … should go through a formal process of being brought to the parliament,” he explains. “The moment it reaches my table you will hear my voice, and as the president of the republic I can either sign whatever is agreed — if I consider that it is in harmony with the national interest of the state and the people of Armenia — or I have a chance not sign it, and then send it, for example, to the constitutional court so the top lawyers can discuss this issue and give me advice.”

Meanwhile, several Armenian analysts have criticized what they describe as Pakistan’s open and ideological support for the Azerbaijani-Turkish axis, and say that joint military drills with the Azeri side further complicate the situation. Sargsyan says Yerevan has no diplomatic relations with Pakistan — “I’m trying to build them, because I don’t come from the concept that if somebody supports my competitor or the enemy I shouldn’t talk to him.”

“Pakistan is not a country we can ignore. We are not in a position of going to war with Pakistan, that’s complete nonsense. We should try to have a dialogue and see where it takes us, and again I don’t see any again contradiction between having a dialogue with Pakistan and our deep and good relations with India.”