Will Putin, Sargsyan and Erdogan Meet in Sochi Next Month?

In all probability Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan may meet in the Russian resort town of Sochi next month, Director of the Turkish Centre for International Relations and Strategic Research (TURKSAM) Sinan Ogan said in an interview with the Russian website Expert.ru.

According to the expert the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will be on the high agenda during this meeting.

Asked why the Armenia-Turkey Protocols signed in Zurich last year remain "hung in the air," Sinan responded: "The point is that the Turkish authorities could not correctly calculate the opposition of the Turkish society. The role of Azerbaijan is very important in the Turkish society. And for that reason any change in the current situation is less probable, should the Karabakh conflict not be resolved. A meeting next month in Sochi among Putin, Erdogan and Sargsyan is probable to be held."

While speaking about the recent rapprochement in the Turkish-Russian relations, Ogan said that it is mainly accounted for by changes in Turkey's foreign policy line.

"Till 2003 Russia was looking Turkey quite in a different way. You were looking at Turkey as an outright staunch of United States, as a country that would do whatever Washington and NATO would dictate. But when Turkey did not allow the American troops to enter Iran via Turkey's territory in 2003, it became the first shock for Russia. The second shock came in 2008 during the Russo-Georgian war when we did not allow the US warships to enter the Black Sea abiding by the letter of the Montreux Convention," said Sinan Ogan.