Armenia has found itself in a difficult situation, facing both external and internal challenges, according to expert on Turkey Ruben Melkonyan, head of the YSU Faculty of Oriental Studies.
Speaking at the presentation of his book Ideological Constitution of the “Era of Peace” (a review of Jirair Libaridian’s book “Armenia-Turkey: Statehood, History, Politics”) in Yerevan on Saturday, he pointed to the “fake news campaign” among Armenian society concerning peace with Turkey and Azerbaijan.
“Society is being told that there is an opportunity not only for the normalization of Armenia’s relations with Turkey and Azerbaijan, but also for friendship with them under the so-called “era of peace” or “peace agenda”, which is absolutely false. Moreover, no prerequisites are in place to achieve it,” the expert claimed.
In Melkonyan’s words, the incumbent Armenian authorities have also started talking about the possible fiasco of their peace agenda, at the same time reaffirming commitment to it. However, Turkey and Azerbaijan’s aggressive policies prove that they do not seek peace with Armenia, he said, adding experts have initially warned about it.
“There is a theoretical research on the possibility of this peace, the settlement of Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations that seem to have become the basis of the current government policies,” the expert said. “Among them, I would like to highlight the studies of the former chief advisor to first Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan, former Ambassador-at-Large and Deputy Foreign Minister Gerard Jirair Libaridian, summarized in his book Armenia-Turkey: Statehood, History, Politics.”
