Turkey and Azerbaijan cannot take part in the Eurasian integration projects, Deputy Director of the Caucasus Institute Sergey Minasyan said in an interview to ArmInfo, when asked to comment on Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev's statement about Turkey's wish to join the Eurasian Economic Union.
"I see no way for a NATO member and the United States' key partner in the region to be involved in Russia's Eurasian projects. Besides, Turkey is part of the EU free trade area. So, it cannot be part of another economic zone," Minasyan said.
He doubts that Azerbaijan will join the Eurasian Economic Union any time soon as this is not a place where the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict can be settled.
"As regards Armenia, I think it will join the Union by Jan 1 2015 if nothing extraordinary happens in the region," Minasyan said.