Turkey will not ratify the Armenian-Turkish Protocols nor will the border be reopened, Vladimir Karapetyan, International Affairs Coordinator, Armenian National Congress (ANC), told a press conference. Although Ankara can benefit from reopening the border with Armenia, it benefits even more from friendly relations with Azerbaijan.

The present developments involving the Azerbaijani-Turkish relations are, according to him, nothing but “masterly cooperation.” Azerbaijan is pressuring Turkey, which, in turn, is demonstrating this pressure to those urging it to ratify the protocols. “It is under this pretext that the ratification will be delayed,” he said. Karapetyan added that Ankara will start pressuring the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs into intensifying the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. He pointed out that the Armenian side is entertaining secret hopes that Turkey will not sign the protocols.