Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said last Friday that Turkey plans to sign a customs agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU): "We have a proposal for Turkey to begin negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union on signing a customs agreement without violating a corresponding agreement with the EU. Turkey wants to establish another cooperation with the EEU," he said. And then there was an explosion of emotions, opinions and comments from the Armenian media. However, some analysts have gone even further, trying to calculate the possible Armenian benefit from such an alliance.
The Zhamanak newspaper writes: "Experts are trying to understand Armenia's possible position on this statement of Turkey. They are also studying the issue of Armenia's possible benefit from this process. First of all, it is noted that when concluding any agreement with the EEU, Turkey should open a single land border with this union - the Armenian-Turkish border. Which is impossible without Armenia's consent, therefore, the Armenian authorities receive new opportunities for maneuvering and promoting their own interests. There are also opinions that Russia is simply trying to exert pressure on Armenia, and the issue will be resolved, without bringing our country any dividends.
Such a fear really exists, and it, first of all, can be seen in the subtext of the Turkish minister's statement. He said that they received an offer to sign a customs agreement with the EEU. Naturally, this proposal was received by Turkey from the governing body of the EEU. Did Armenia agree to submit such a proposal? Did Serzh Sargsyan to invite Turkey to the EEU?
If the goal of the Armenian authorities is maneuvering in this process, promoting the interests of the country and taking advantage of it, it would be logical for them to initially defend this idea," the author concludes.
"Armenia has not yet expressed its position on this issue, the deputy foreign minister only said about the unilateral closure of the Armenian-Turkish border by Ankara. Which means that if Turkey wants to enter the EEA customs area or sign an agreement on a free trade area (FTA), it should understand that its border with Armenia cannot remain locked," Sputnik-Armenia cited the political scientist Suren Sargsyan as saying.
His opinion was motivated by the fact that the decision in the EEU are adopted by consensus, therefore, Yerevan should put forward lifting of the blockade as the main condition for Turkey's entry into the EEU customs area. At the same time, according to the political scientist, the settlement of relations does not mean reconciliation. The borders can be opened without establishing diplomatic relations or without opening embassies in the case of establishing diplomatic relations. He also did not fail to note that in the light of the debate over Armenia's withdrawal from the EEU, initiated by the opposition, Turkey's statement can be regarded as a trial balloon, recalling that the EEU is the only economic project in the region, which includes Armenia.
