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TURKISH REPORTER: "IF ARMENIA WAS A SMALL FISH, WE'D HAVE SWALLOWED IT BY NOW"
Vahe Sarukhanyan
hetq
02:34, October 6, 2011
Turkish political analyst Mensur Akgun once said that in terms of
its significance and interest for Turkey, Armenia is a "small fish".
When I asked Mustafa Edib Yilmaz, the Business Editor at Today's Zaman,
about his reaction to the fish parallel, he said that, "If this was
the case Turkey would have swallowed Armenia by now."
Yilmaz, like many other experts, doesn't believe that Armenia will
have much to offer Turkey if the border between the two ever opens.
However, the editor thinks that Armenia is a leader in certain
production sectors and that Turkey holds a commanding position in
other sectors.
In this light, the two countries can complement one another.
He believes that after the border is opened and relations normalized,
the biggest gain for the Turkish economy is that it would save huge
amounts of intellectual energy now spent on finding solutions to the
existing problem. This is evident but as to what specifically can be
done to reach this objective, according to Yilmaz, is something the
presidents must answer.
Osman Kavala, who heads the Anadolu Kultur organization, doesn't
think the opening of the border will result in anything miraculous.
Nevertheless, it is highly important in terms of developing trade
and tourism.
Kavala proposes the following 'road map' - the border can be
temporarily kept closed, but before its final opening, bilateral
diplomatic relations must be established. This can be accomplished
via embassies of the respective countries acting as hosts.
Thus, the Turkish Embassy in Georgia could start to engage in affairs
with Armenia while, at the same time, the Armenian Embassy in Greece
could do the same with Turkey.
Kaval believes that over time, given such a gradual process, Azerbaijan
would find itself increasingly unable to hinder the establishment
of relations.
Zumrut Ä°mamoglu, an economist at BahceÅ~_ehir University's Economic
and Social Research Centre (BETAM), told me she was surprised to
learn during her visit to Armenia in June that Ankara had also banned
imports from Armenia.
"Trade and business relations are an important condition for peace
between countries. I believe that we'd have a more peaceful region
if economic relations are established," Ä°mamoglu said, adding that
Armenia's impact on the Turkish economy would be mainly felt in the
eastern region. She pointed to Turkey's open border with Georgia and
the positive impact it has had on Trabizon and other northeastern
Turkish areas.
When I asked the Turkish experts to evaluate the long-term development
prospects of Armenia given that two of its western and eastern borders
are closed, Osman Kavala said it was a real challenge but that Armenia
still had the potential to develop economically through its links
with Georgia and Iran.
Kavala said that such potential would multiply with the opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey.
Vahe Sarukhanyan
hetq
02:34, October 6, 2011
Turkish political analyst Mensur Akgun once said that in terms of
its significance and interest for Turkey, Armenia is a "small fish".
When I asked Mustafa Edib Yilmaz, the Business Editor at Today's Zaman,
about his reaction to the fish parallel, he said that, "If this was
the case Turkey would have swallowed Armenia by now."
Yilmaz, like many other experts, doesn't believe that Armenia will
have much to offer Turkey if the border between the two ever opens.
However, the editor thinks that Armenia is a leader in certain
production sectors and that Turkey holds a commanding position in
other sectors.
In this light, the two countries can complement one another.
He believes that after the border is opened and relations normalized,
the biggest gain for the Turkish economy is that it would save huge
amounts of intellectual energy now spent on finding solutions to the
existing problem. This is evident but as to what specifically can be
done to reach this objective, according to Yilmaz, is something the
presidents must answer.
Osman Kavala, who heads the Anadolu Kultur organization, doesn't
think the opening of the border will result in anything miraculous.
Nevertheless, it is highly important in terms of developing trade
and tourism.
Kavala proposes the following 'road map' - the border can be
temporarily kept closed, but before its final opening, bilateral
diplomatic relations must be established. This can be accomplished
via embassies of the respective countries acting as hosts.
Thus, the Turkish Embassy in Georgia could start to engage in affairs
with Armenia while, at the same time, the Armenian Embassy in Greece
could do the same with Turkey.
Kaval believes that over time, given such a gradual process, Azerbaijan
would find itself increasingly unable to hinder the establishment
of relations.
Zumrut Ä°mamoglu, an economist at BahceÅ~_ehir University's Economic
and Social Research Centre (BETAM), told me she was surprised to
learn during her visit to Armenia in June that Ankara had also banned
imports from Armenia.
"Trade and business relations are an important condition for peace
between countries. I believe that we'd have a more peaceful region
if economic relations are established," Ä°mamoglu said, adding that
Armenia's impact on the Turkish economy would be mainly felt in the
eastern region. She pointed to Turkey's open border with Georgia and
the positive impact it has had on Trabizon and other northeastern
Turkish areas.
When I asked the Turkish experts to evaluate the long-term development
prospects of Armenia given that two of its western and eastern borders
are closed, Osman Kavala said it was a real challenge but that Armenia
still had the potential to develop economically through its links
with Georgia and Iran.
Kavala said that such potential would multiply with the opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey.