I have never been against establishing relations with Turkey. The second President of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, stated this during his press conference Thursday.

However, according to him, the establishment of these relations should take place through a natural procedure.

"What is happening now [in this regard] is not comprehensible to me. In fact, the [respective] format I see today is not negotiations with Turkey, but with the Turkey-Azerbaijan tandem where the agenda is formed by Azerbaijan, it will be voiced by Turkey. This will not take us [i.e., Armenia] to a good place. This is not the right way to establish bilateral relations," Kocharyan added.

According to him, the risk associated with the reopening of the Armenia-Turkey border is great, and a certain shock is expected in the Armenian market in the next 3-5 years for a whole range of goods, products, and sectors.

"I have not heard any assessment or calculation about the consequences of opening the borders and how we will protect our market [in that case]," the former president continued, in particular.

Kocharyan stated that the negotiations on "benefits" are absurd. He noted that it is 400 kilometers from Yerevan to the Russian border, the structure of Armenia's economy is such that most of its cargo transportation is carried out by trucks, and this situation will not change for Armenia, as its main partner is Russia.

"Aren't those people looking at the map?" Kocharyan asked, adding that the use of the railway implies additional efforts.

"That is, not only will we [i.e., Armenia] not win, but we will lose. I'm not saying we should not go to the border opening. But a 3- to 5-year plan is needed so that we protect the [Armenian] market," he added.

According to the second president, Armenia is able to attract specialists, and there are such specialists in the country.

"My request is not to look at the intellectual abilities of the country in the context of the ruling power," Kocharyan said.

"The border [with Turkey] must be [re]opened, but the [Armenian] farmers must be protected," he added, listing the hidden respective risks—starting from greenhouses to seeds.

"We should not act as beggars in the issue of opening the borders. The opening of the border is natural. It is unnatural that a year ago they attacked us with the Bayraktars [i.e., the Turkish-made combat drones]. And I am convinced that the operators [of those drones] were not Turks; this must be remembered," the ex-president of Armenia emphasized.