ArmInfo.By establishing diplomatic relations with Turkey and opening the borders for Turkish capital, the Armenian leadership will first of all improve the economy. And on the example of Georgia, I do not at all think that all this can threaten Armenia with Turkish expansion. Professor of the Georgian Technical University, Doctor of International Relations, conflictologist Amiran Khevtsuriani, expressed a similar opinion to ArmInfo
"Such a step will also give Armenia's foreign policy more flexibility. In particular, allowing the country to get rid of one-sided dependence on Moscow. In this light, I believe that the normalization of relations with Turkey is vital for Armenia. I understand the historical pain of the Armenian people, it is difficult to heal "However, Armenia must comprehend the realities. It is wrong to constantly appeal to the past and build the country's future on it," he said.
According to Khevtsuriani, today Turkey is a powerful regional player whose interests must be taken into account. This is what the first president of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, once said, whose rule and pragmatism were sacrificed to the revisionist policy. As an example, he cited the successfully developing cooperation between Georgia and Turkey in the political, trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian sectors.
According to the Georgian expert, this cooperation is of a strategic nature. There is a free trade regime between the two countries. The Turkish private sector is one of the largest investors in the Georgian economy. At the same time, there is a simplified border regime for citizens of both countries.
At the same time, Khevtsurian touched upon the question of whether Turkish investments are a means of political influence and a threat to Georgia's sovereignty, especially given the historical context that for a long time linked the two countries and was largely of an expansionist nature. At the same time, he believes that by choosing a purely pragmatic policy based on mutual respect with Turkey after the collapse of the USSR, Georgia only won. Especially considering that it was initially clear that relations with Russia would be difficult. In light of this, spoiling relations with Turkey's southern neighbor would be disastrous for young independent Georgia.
"Reports with speculation about Turkey's evil intentions are periodically spread around Georgia and in Georgia. They are clearly propagandistic in nature. Particular emphasis is placed on the allegedly expected Turkish expansion of Adjara. And last year, on the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Kars, this entire campaign campaign has become hysterical. Of course, the movement of Turkish capital is especially noticeable in Adjara, but in this situation it seems inappropriate to talk about the annexation of Adjara, especially given the lack of the necessary ethno-cultural base for this in Adjara," he noted.
According to Khevtsuriani, in contrast to economic influence, Turkey's cultural influence on Adjara, as well as on Georgia as a whole, is insignificant. Adjarians are the same Georgians as Svans, Mingrelians, Kakhetians, Gurians, Imeretians and others. Moreover, unlike the Svans and Mingrelians, their native language is only Georgian. And the fact that part of the Adjarians profess Islam, in his opinion, does not at all reduce the significance of the factor of their ethnicity.
