Translated material
Political match in Yerevan
Armenia and Türkiye will play with one goal
The capital of Armenia froze in anticipation of the planned sensation. Tomorrow at the central Yerevan stadium "Hrazdan" there will be a football match, the significance of which can be compared in the modern history of the country only with the promise of breaking the transport blockade of Armenia, established by the Turks in the early 1990s of the last century after the war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.On September 6, in the qualifying match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the national teams of Turkey and Armenia will meet, between which borders have been closed and diplomatic relations have been severed for 15 years. A blind draw brought together the teams of two neighboring countries in the fifth group of the European zone of the world championship, where in addition to them there were also Spain, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Estonia.
These days, neither in Turkey nor in Armenia, no one is discussing the chances of their teams to reach the final part of the championship in South Africa in two years. The political elite and the common public are concerned about more vital things: will the match itself take place, will it lead to an aggravation of the historical mutual claims of the two peoples? After all, it is well known that one of the main foreign policy goals of Yerevan is the demand for the world community to recognize the fact of the “genocide” of Armenians by Ottoman Turkey in 1915.
However, in recent weeks there have been moves towards warming relations between Yerevan and Ankara. Evidence of this was the invitation sent by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to attend the match as a spectator. And although this invitation was not officially accepted by the Turkish side until yesterday, everyone in Yerevan and Ankara already knows: the Turkish President will arrive in the Armenian capital tomorrow, where he will spend six to seven hours. They will be enough for him to have time to cheer for his team and meet Serzh Sargsyan. A group of Turkish Presidential Security Service officers, at least a hundred Turkish journalists, and numerous fans have already arrived in Yerevan. On the eve of the match, the Armenian authorities introduced a simplified procedure for issuing visas for Turkish citizens, and there have been no tickets for direct flights from Istanbul to Yerevan for a long time...
Abdullah Gul's decision to come to Yerevan caused a split within the Turkish leadership. The Turkish press writes that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who opposes the president’s trip in order to “prevent the opposition from using it for political purposes,” banned parliamentarians-fans from the ruling Justice and Development Party from going to the football in Yerevan. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) regarded Abdullah Gul's decision as a "betrayal." “Armenia does not recognize Turkey’s borders,” said one of the PAP leaders, Oktay Vural. “We do not support our president’s visit to such a country.”
The plans of the Turkish president to visit Armenia caused an even greater explosion of emotions in Azerbaijan. They suspect that Turkish brothers and fellow believers are ready to “surrender” Nagorno-Karabakh to the Armenians, along with the occupied surrounding areas. Some politicians hide their irritation behind irony. “Armenians are conducting a PR campaign. They will later say that Abdullah Gul slipped a laxative into Sargsyan’s coffee during a break in the match, and only the strong will of the Armenian president allowed him to watch the second half,” Azerbaijani MP Anar Mamedkhanov shared his sarcasm with the Day.az news agency.
The Football Federation of Armenia, at the insistence of the Turkish side, changed its logo, removing from it the image of the biblical Mount Ararat. As you know, this mountain, sacred to Armenians, is now located in Turkey. Be that as it may, the famous Armenian political scientist, director of the Caucasus Institute Alexander Iskandaryan believes that Armenian-Turkish football diplomacy, if successful, can significantly improve the atmosphere between the two countries and give impetus to the start of negotiations on opening the border. And this is of vital importance for Armenia. The political scientist believes that the decision to invite the Turkish president to Yerevan could not have been agreed upon with the Russian leadership. In addition, it could be a topic of discussion at the meeting on September 2 in Sochi between the presidents of Russia and Armenia.
According to the assessments of another Armenian expert, who wished to remain anonymous, the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border will mean the loss of any prospect for Azerbaijan to return Nagorno-Karabakh to its jurisdiction.