Armenian former FM: Erdogan's mentioning Armenians, working in Turkey is not helpful

Former Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian is concerned that if Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan puts the Karabakh issue on the table of Armenian-Turkish negotiations, the Armenian-Turkish relations  will deteriorate, if Turkish officials start to politicize such questions as, for example, the issue of Armenians working in Turkey.

He made this statement during a meeting with Turkish journalists of the Zaman agency.

Oskanian said that three months ago he heard for the first time that Erdogan brought the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh to the forefront in the negotiations.

"Before that, I really hopes that Turkey's policy is changing and we can achieve some results. Karabakh is a separate problem. I am sure that if Turkey first normalizes relations with Armenia, the Karabakh problem can further be achieved much easier, while Erdogan's mentioning Armenians, working in Turkey is not helpful", he said.

Notably, Turkish Prime Erdogan has recently said that the Armenian-Turkish border will not open and the relations not be normalized until Armenia withdraws its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh. He also said that it is necessary to send Armenians working in Turkey to their homeland without a right to return.

/ARMENIA-Today/