Azerbaijan, Baku, April 30 / Trend, U. Sadikhova /
The Israeli parliament's decision to submit the issue of the so-called "Armenian Genocide" for discussion will change a thing, as Israel will never agree to break relations with a regional ally like Turkey, Turkish Center for International Relations and Strategic Analysis (TURKSAM) President Sinan Ogan said.
"There is no other country like Turkey in the region, with which Israel can build a close relationship. Turkish-Israeli relations can rapidly become worse, and military cooperation may be suspended, but a complete break in the relations between the two countries is impossible," Ogan said in an interview with Trend.
According to Ogan, Israel uses the decision to submit the issue of the so-called "genocide" for discussion in parliament as a political lever against Ankara, which could easily become closer to Arab countries and begin a dialogue with Iran.
"The swift growth of Turkey's prestige in the Arab world at this stage is partly due to the worsening of relations with Israel. Israel has warned Turkey that, in response to its rapprochement with the Arab countries and Iran, it can bring to the agenda the question of the 'genocide,'" the expert said.
At a meeting of Leftist parties in parliament, a decision was adopted to submit the "genocide" for discussion.
Twenty MPs participated in the voting, 12 of whom voted for the decision and eight against. The decision has been presented to the Israeli Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Relations and Defense.
Armenia claims that the Ottoman Empire committed "genocide" against Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. Making greater efforts to promote the issue internationally, Armenians have achieved its recognition by parliaments in some countries.
According to the expert, Israel is not interested in discussing "genocide."
"Israel will never wish to share the monopoly of the genocide with other states, because it believes that the genocide - the Holocaust - has been committed only against the Jewish people. However, the difference is that the genocide against the Jews is a real historical fact, unlike the 'Armenian Genocide,'" Ogan said.
Israel is using the "Armenian Genocide" to exert pressure on Turkey, understanding the painfulness of the issue for Ankara, he added.
"Many states clarify relations with Turkey, using the allegations of the Armenian diaspora, but Ankara will resist attempts to blacken the country's history until the end," the expert said. "However, Armenians will also not refuse their struggle, which will bring financial benefits for the diaspora, and help it to gain a foothold in Western society."
The main objective of the Armenian diaspora is to prove the fact of "genocide" by 2015 - the centennial events of 1915, Ogan said.
"The main goal for Armenia and Armenians is to condemn Turkey. Armenians would prefer to live another five years with closed borders with Turkey rather than refuse from their beliefs, because Armenian Diaspora managed to get such benefits due to hatred towards Turkey. Armenian Diaspora seeks to accept Turkey's guilt by 2015, after which it will be able to demand financial compensation and part of the Turkish territories, Turkish analyst said.
Yerevan is not interested in open borders with Turkey, which is possible only after resolving of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Ogan said. Armenia can go to the proposed truce with Turkey only if it causes a break in the Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, expert said.
"The original purpose of the normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey is to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. But there was other result. The peace process faced difficulties", Ogan said.
This is due to the fact that the country that will be able to resolve this conflict, will become a key player in the South Caucasus, expert said.
"Will the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen Russia, France and the U.S. enable Turkey to resolve the conflict, if they failed to do anything for 17 years?" What will be the situation in Armenia if Turkey achieves a truce? Armenia is well aware that resolving of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Turkey's participation will strengthen the alliance Ankara-Baku even stronger", Ogan said.
He said that Turkey has not completely got Armenia's measure, when it started the process of normalizing the relations.
"Turkey made a mistake with Armenia, considering it the second Syria. It was able to get the trust of Bashar al-Assad [the Syrian president], but this attempt failed with Armenia ", head of the Turkish center said.
The main goal for Armenia is to denigrate Turkey in the eyes of the world powers and lay the blame for the failure of the restoration of relations at Ankara, despite the ongoing process of normalization.
"Armenia, especially before 2015, wants to show the West Turkey's unwillingness to restore the relationship, because of what the measures should be taken against Ankara. The policy of Armenia has never been logical. It did not pursue good purposes, while Turkey gave start to this process to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, " Ogan said.
If Armenia acted logically, open all routes would be opened and all communications would operate in the region. There would be no conflict between Baku and Yerevan, analyst said.
"Armenia could have a chance at getting profit from the economic prospects of Turkey and Azerbaijan, but the hatred of Armenians towards these countries blinded them and they can not control themselves," Turkish expert said.