2011 will be stagnant year for the Armenian-Turkish relations, Turkish studies expert Artak Shakaryan told the journalists today.

Any developments related to the Armenian-Turkish dialogue depend on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s will, he added.

Next year will bring disappointment to Armenians, as incumbent Turkish authorities are likely to leave their posts after the elections, Shakaryan said, noting that present Turkish government is more capable of continuing Armenian-Turkish talks. “I do not think that after elections Erdogan will easily step back from the Karabakh precondition. It has already become a psychological problem for Turks and it will not be easy to recede,” the expert stressed. According to him, the step back has been already done: previously Erodgan spoke of Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories, presently he mentions only the territories. However, such precondition is unacceptable to Armenia, as we are not going to make any concessions.

Artak Shakaryan also noted that the Armenian issue is not that important for Turkey and it is forgotten after each April 24.