Even though Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s message—in which he extended condolences to the relatives of the Armenian Genocide victims—has had an unprecedented conciliatory tone, this move is the part of a broader strategy, Carnegie Institute researcher, analyst Sinan Ulgen said, the Voice of America (VOA) wrote.

“This was a plan which was prepared by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is a part of Turkey’s strategy to change the perceptions about that country on the Armenian issue,” Ulgen stated.   

Istanbul-based journalist Cengiz Aktar noted that since the presidential election in Turkey is drawing near, there are some limits in terms of how far Erdogan can go in the Armenian issue.

“[But] Erdogan cannot go farther than that, and it will not affect Armenia-Turkey relations,” Aktar argued.

Ulgen, on the other hand, considers that Erdogan already has achieved a significant diplomatic success.

“Given the very positive reaction to this statement, it helped to improve the [Turkish] government’s and PM’s image at a time when a lot of criticisms are made on the conduct of the government,” Sinan Ulgen concluded.