If Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu points at similarity of the Russian and Turkish stands on the Karabakh problem, it means Ankara has revised its views in favor of the OSCE Minsk Group approaches based on the three Helsinki principles (peoples' right to self-determination, ceasefire observance and territorial integrity of states), Eduard Sharmazanov, Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Spokesman for the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, has told ArmInfo.
"However, to be convincing, Ankara should officially state it, unblock the Armenian-Turkish border and ratify the bilateral protocols on normalization of relations. But I think this will not happen because Cavusoglu's statement is nothing but another bluff of Turkish diplomacy," Sharmazanov says.
When asked whether he rules out the possibility that the similarity of the Russian and Turkish stands is due to the changes in the approaches of Moscow rather than Ankara, the Armenian Parliament Vice Speaker has given a negative reply: "One can judge about Russia's stand on the Karabakh peace process by the latest statement of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who stated that the Karabakh problem should be resolved on the basis of mutual concessions and that there should be neither winners nor losers. By the way, it is the stand of all the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group".
To note, Turkish FM Mevlut Cavusoglu said on August 10 that the Russian and Turkish stands on the Karabakh problem are similar and that Russia and Azerbaijan want Turkey to contribute to the settlement of the conflict.