"Fact" daily writes:
The issue of normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey is again in the domain of public discussions. Years ago, this topic was raised when the Armenian-Turkish protocols were signed, which never became a reality, and Turkey refused to ratify them. But in 2009, the situation was completely different, Armenia was acting from a different position, and now the situation is to the detriment of our country, taking into account that Armenia suffered a heavy defeat in the second Artsakh war, and Turkish-Azerbaijani relations are closer than during the period of football diplomacy. . If Turkey in 2009, in the end, put forward preconditions without going to the final settlement of relations with Armenia, then one can imagine what position it can adopt now. Now, the Turkish preconditions have not only not changed, but have acquired completely different dimensions. Erdogan's government is trying to advance its preconditions and demands through Azerbaijan as well. That's why the Turkish side is making statements that if the relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia are regulated, then the Armenian-Turkish relations will also be regulated automatically. Sometimes it even seems obvious that Turkish ears are behind the demands put forward by Azerbaijan. Therefore, it is no coincidence that intense discussions are taking place in the Turkish public sphere and in the media on the topic of the so-called "Zangezur Corridor". And, in general, it is important to understand what kind of opinion is generated in Turkey's domestic audience and what is being said about relations with Armenia, especially when our public is mostly unaware of such subtleties, which can play a significant role.
From this point of view, the "Real Turkey" program initiated by "Alpha News" can be useful for communicating the moods formed in Turkey to our public. And if, thanks to our partners, we follow the statements made by government and expert circles in the Turkish media, we see that Turkey shows a great interest in the so-called "Zangezur Corridor" issue. For some reason, the statement made by the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, that there is a development related to the Armenian side of the "Zangezur Corridor" in recent days, did not receive much attention. Although Turkish officials are talking about the fact that the corridor can also pass through the territory of Iran. , but at the same time, the question of Iran's resistance is being publicly calculated in the media domain, especially in the context that Israel has announced that it will strike Iran. In other words, when a major conflict between Israel and Iran takes place, it is unlikely that Iran's resistance will remain the same when Iran's spiritual leader and other important officials declare that changing the recognized borders is unacceptable for them. It is no coincidence that the discussions on Turkish TV channels are already talking about the "Zangezur operation", which will open the corridor. And the most interesting thing is that this planned operation is compared to the invasion of the sovereign territory of Syria by the Turkish armed forces in 2019. That operation was called Operation "Peace Spring", through which Turkey planned to create a 20 km wide so-called Arab buffer zone and transfer from Turkey to there more than 2 million Syrian refugees who were in Turkey. At the same time, Erdoğan is trying to divert the public's attention from the devaluation of the lira and the complicated economic situation of the country through various foreign topics. That is why information is being circulated that Israel has plans to invade the territory of Turkey. And as for the attitude of the Turkish public towards Armenians and Armenia, negative sentiments are maintained due to various factors, and the opinion has been formed that Armenians Armenia needs the regulation of Turkish relations more than Turkey. And it is interesting that in the case of phenomena that have negative connotations for them, Turks immediately label Armenians, try to find an Armenian trace, and talking about the Armenian Genocide is simply a taboo for the authorities. That's why the broadcasting of a radio station operating in Turkey was suspended the other day because of the words "Armenian Genocide" on air. But when it comes to important contributions of Armenians in various fields, they are immediately "Turkified". For example, Taron Acemoglu, an Armenian from Istanbul, was recently awarded the Nobel Prize, but in Turkey he was presented as a "famous Turkish economist".
ARTHUR KARAPETIAN
