The Armenian-Turkish reconciliation process reached a stalemate because of the Turkish authorities. The Turkish authorities’ present steps are aimed at showing the international community that the Armenian-Turkish relations are allegedly progressing, the expert in Turkic studies Ruben Melkonyan told journalists on November 1.

The Turkish President and Premier make regular statements on alleged secret, public, diplomatic activities, with a Zurich-2 draft on the agenda. However, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly refuted the “rumors spread” by top-ranking Turkish officials.

“It is in this context that we should view the Strong Party’s initiative they are presenting as public diplomacy. The party has no political or public rating in Turkey. In the 2006 parliamentary elections the Strong Turkey Party received only 506 votes, with Turkey’s population being 72 million,” Melkonyan said. It was on the Turkish authorities’ initiative that the Strong Turkey Party made such primitive steps, which was, in fact, one more manifestation of Turkish propaganda.

Melkonyan stressed that the Strong Turkey Party is not an alternative to the ruling party, as the two’s approaches to the Armenian Genocide are the same. “Moreover, the leader of the Strong Turkey Party Tuna Beklevic contradicts himself: he states their actions are public diplomacy and takes offence when the Armenian foreign office refuses to receive them as Turkish political figures,” he said.

According to him, the project involving the Strong Turkey Party had two targets: the maximum target was the Turkish political figures’ press conference and meetings with Armenian officials in Yerevan; the minimum target was only a press conference.

Interestingly, Tuna Beklevic likes tea parties, and he was desirous to have tea at the Armenian foreign office. “May be he thinks the foreign office is a tearoom,” Melkonyan said.