ANKARA (Hetq)–Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and up to eight cabinet ministers will travel to Russia on January 12-13 for talks involving greater Russian participation in an oil pipeline linking Turkey’s southern and northern coasts and the process of rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia.
Turkish and Russian officials are expected to announce an agreement during the visit allowing Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft and Russian oil company Rosneft to have a share in the $2.5 billion Samsun-Ceyhan pipeline, which will run between Turkey’s Black Sea coast and the Mediterranean.
The talks are expected to be in the format of a joint cabinet meeting, not unlike similar meetings held in earlier visits by Erdogan to Syria and Iraq. In past remarks, Erdogan said his government wants to establish a mechanism with Russia similar to the high-level strategic councils created between Turkey and Syria and Turkey and Iraq last year. An agreement to initiate a similar mechanism with Russia was signed when Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Ankara in August. Erdogan’s visit to Moscow will be the first step in this direction. Later, another meeting of the two countries’ cabinets is planned to take place in Turkey.
Peace in the Caucasus will be one of the top issues on the agenda of the Moscow visit. The joint cabinet meeting will also discuss the formation of a Caucasus Cooperation and Stability Platform, a joint mechanism proposed by Turkey following the Russian-Georgian War in August 2008 to manage regional conflicts.
Analysts predict that the negotiations between Turkey and Armenia may speed up following the Turkish-Russian talks.
2010 is unlikely to be a good year for Armenia. Turkey and its younger cousin Azerbaijan have been actively pursuing their political and economical influences to achieve the following objectives:
1) – Squeeze Armenia in all respects
2) – Wipe off the issues of Genocide and potential territorial demands for Western Armenia.
3) – Suffocate the people of Karabakh
4) – Advancement (in general terms) of the revived pan-Turkism ideologies of 100 years ago.
In response to this, Eduard Nalbandian and his senior officers are trying to convince themselves and the Armenian ordinary people that everything is hunky dory and bright economical opportunities will open up for our people.
Levon Ter-Petrosian and his followers consider this as the 21st century high level smart politics conducted by our government.
Some Ramkavar followers also think that Turkey will open up their archives and after 95 years they will happily admit that their ancestors committed Genocide. After that admission, we can have very friendly relationship with our westerly neighbor.
Let us watch it as it progresses. Patience has its virtues.
If anyone foolishly doubted Russia’s role in back stabbing Armenia with this protocol nonsense they were mistakenly ill-informed. Russia freely uses Armenia as their pawn (i.e. slave) in getting what Russia wants at any cost whatsoever. For all you North Americans and Europeans, the US and all of Europe is no different. Is that really so hard to understand after witnessing recent events.
When will Armenian officials learn to stand up and be counted as men NOT mice?