Armenia Should Withdraw from Normalization with Turkey: ARF-D

Armenia should not have started the normalization with Turkey in this way at all or it should have withdrawn from the normalization process shortly after beginning it, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutiun, ARF-D) deputy Hrayr Karapetyan said at a press conference today.

In his words Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent threats to deport illegal Armenian from Turkey was a good reason for Yerevan to withdraw from the process, though it did not take advantage of that chance.

Karapetyan suggested that Armenia withdrew from the process now — prior to April 24. At the same time he did not downplay the importance of establishing diplomatic relations with Ankara and the opening of Armenia-Turkey borders.

As what concerns the recent developments in Washington Karapetyan said that on the one hand they proved once again that the Turkey-Azerbaijan alliance still exists and that Azerbaijan and Turkey act as one single unit when it comes to foreign issues.

On the other hand, according to Karapetyan, those meetings testified to the fact that Erdogan’s statements, that the Armenia-Turkey relations will not improve and that the border will not open unless Karabakh conflict is resolved, are quite true.

Asked what changes the Washington meetings could bring about, Karapetyan said that Armenia and Turkey reaffirmed their positions there, while the US and other world powers realized that Turkey is firm on its stance.