There was no need to put pressure on Serzh Sargsyan to do so: Armenian political expert

Day.Az:Turkey-Armenia Football match ended with the victory of Turkey. What is the result of the "football diplomacy"?

Alexander Iskandaryan: It is too early to speak about outcomes as the process is not yet complete, and it can develop in different ways. Intermediate result is the separation of problems Armenian-Turkish relations from the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

Representative of the Turkish state signed documents to improve Armenian-Turkish relations, in which there is no word "Karabakh", or the word "Azerbaijan".

Q: Was Serzh Sargsyan's visit to Bursa expected on the backdrop of recent events?

A: Undoubtedly. It would be strange if having reached success in signing the protocols Mr. Sargsyan would not go to Bursa for a football match.

Q: The Armenian-Turkish protocols were signed in Zurich on October 10. There is an opinion that Armenia has signed the protocols under the pressure of external forces. What are your views on this issue?  

A: No, I do not agree with this opinion. There are different views on this issue in Armenia, but the president of Armenia and the wider ruling elite, of course, favored normalization of relations with Turkey and there was no need to put pressure on him to do so.  

Q: The Armenian diaspora is dissatisfied and may discontinue funding for Armenia. Dashnaks will fight against ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols, as well as the parliamentary faction of the Heritage Party will raise the question of the resignation of the country's leadership. Will Armenian parliament ratify the protocols on the backdrop of such a scenario?
 
A: If such a decision is adopted, of course. Correlation of coalition and opposition forces in the parliament enable to ratify them.

Q: Will the Armenian-Turkish border open in the near future?

A: This is quite possible.

/Day.Az/