Armenian rescuers in Türkiye: populism or a step towards peace?
Ismayil, Danilin, Grigoryan and Karapetyan on Caliber.Az

INTERVIEWS  09 February 2023 - 17:19

The Armenian media harshly criticised Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for his decision to send a rescue team to help in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Türkiye. The establishment of relations with the neighbours in the region is not at all in the plans of the larger half of Armenian society. This is clearly demonstrated by the outright rejoicing of some users in the Armenian social media segment and their monstrous comments to the news of the tragedy, as well as scathing articles condemning Yerevan's sending a rescue mission to Türkiye.

Given the enormous role of the Armenian press in actively spreading an anti-Turkish agenda among the public, it is not surprising that Pashinyan's gesture did not find a positive response among the Armenian population. One way or another, however, the Armenian rescuers were sent to Türkiye, and this is most likely a deliberate diplomatic move that official Yerevan will use to build further relations with Türkiye. There is no doubt that this fact is designed to attract the attention and positive evaluation of the international community in order to earn some political bonuses.

Competent experts have shared their views with Caliber.Az on how Prime Minister Pashinyan's initiative will affect Armenian-Turkish normalisation and for what purpose it has been implemented.

In the opinion of Turkish political scientist Prof. Togrul Ismayil, the sending of Armenian rescuers to Türkiye should not be seen in the context of building diplomatic relations.

"I would not attach any particular importance to the Armenian side's initiative in the current situation, because Türkiye would do the same. This is normal practice, a common human practice. In addition to Armenia, Greece, which is far from being a friendly country to Türkiye, came to the rescue. Of course, the initiative of the Armenian side is welcomed by Türkiye, but this cannot affect diplomatic relations in any way. Suffice it to recall how Azerbaijan at one time offered real assistance to Armenia during the earthquake in Spitak, showing great humanism. But this did not contribute to the normalisation of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations," the Turkish political analyst recalled.

Russian political scientist Pavel Danilin has a slightly different take on this move by the Armenian side. He believes that the Armenian side's gesture in the current situation was more designed to attract the attention of the international community. The political scientist noted that the world observed that Sweden and Finland have not expressed their condolences to Türkiye, and both the Swedes and the Finns have fallen in the estimation of the international community.

"In the case of Armenia, the world also saw and assessed everything. On the other hand, there is some warming in Armenian-Turkish relations; both sides are making demonstrative steps in this direction. Nevertheless, it is premature to say that in the foreseeable future, the sides will get closer. If there is a warming of relations on the state level, it is unlikely to happen on the domestic level in the coming decades. It is clear that Armenian civil society is not ready for full-scale normalisation," Danilin said.

In the opinion of Armenian political analyst Vladimir Grigoryan, sending Armenian rescuers to Türkiye will not affect the building of relations between the two states.

"This is because Türkiye refuses to recognise the 'Armenian genocide' (in quotes - Ed.) and strengthens ties with Azerbaijan. And Türkiye will never give up this policy," Grigoryan said.

At the same time, Armenian political analyst Vahagn Karapetyan stated that he perceived what happened in Türkiye as a "universal tragedy".

"I believe that Armenia and Türkiye should strive to normalise relations and establish diplomatic ties, because I do not see any other options for further coexistence of the neighbouring countries of the single region. As to Pashinyan's initiative on sending Armenian rescuers to Türkiye, this step was primarily designed to attract the attention of the international community", said Karapetyan.

P.S. According to expert opinions, forecasts regarding further normalisation of Armenian-Turkish relations are clearly pessimistic, but this is primarily due to the unwillingness of the Armenian society to fully develop relations with the neighbours in the region.

Caliber.Az