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Press Review


“Zhamanak” comments on Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s reported remark that he and his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian overcame an important “psychological barrier” at their meeting in Yerevan on Thursday. The paper sees little substance in this phrase. “From this standpoint, Turkey’s main objective becomes even more evident: to rapidly launch some imitational process of Turkish-Armenian contacts ahead of 2015,” it says. “And on this issue Turkey probably has the backing of all major foreign powers. For the international community, such an imitational process is very important for justifying the lack of its tough demands to Turkey on the Armenian issue.”

“Hraparak” believes that the Davutoglu-Nalbandian talks did result in a “certain movement” in Turkish-Armenian relations. The paper argues that the two ministers had not met for years. “What was discussed and decided at their meeting is totally unknown,” it says. “With his essence of a philosophy professor, Davutoglu shared his good impressions [with Turkish journalists,] while Nalbandian only noted the fact of the meeting. Perhaps the coming days and events will shed light on them.”

“Chorrord Inknishkhanutyun” comments on the modest number of Armenians who demonstrated against Davutoglu in Yerevan on Thursday. A similar protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent trip to Armenia was much bigger. The paper says this does not mean that anti-Russian sentiment in Armenia is stronger than anti-Turkish attitudes. It’s just that Putin’s visit was far more important. “Obviously, if Turkey had forced us to do what Russia is forcing, the entire population of Armenia would have taken to the streets,” the paper says.

“Zhoghovurd” quotes Economy Minister Vahram Avanesian as admitting that the prices of many goods, including basic foodstuffs, will go up substantially after Armenia joins the Russian-led Customs Union. “Yes, this is a possible scenario, and these are anticipated damages,” he says. But Avanesian insists that the price rises will be outweighed by “anticipated benefits” of Armenian membership. He at the same time says that the Armenian government has not calculated all the economic risks involved.

“In other words, Armenia is moving in a direction which is unknown even to the authorities. In return, Serzh Sarkisian gets a chance to prolong his rule,” comments “Zhoghovurd.”

(Tigran Avetisian)
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