Alen Simonyan said he sees no threat to Armenia’s sovereignty from Turkey and argued that the Turkish factor should not be linked to the continued presence of Russia’s military base in Armenia.
“I do not see a threat to Armenia’s sovereignty from Turkey. Since August 8, I generally see no threat at all,” Simonyan told reporters on September 24.
Asked whether Russia’s military presence would be necessary for Armenia’s security without Armenian-Turkish “normalization,” Simonyan said he did not know, adding that he did not believe the two issues should be linked.
The statement comes as Turkey continues to openly coordinate its policy toward Armenia with Azerbaijan.
In June, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Ankara’s “normalization” process with Armenia was proceeding “in close coordination with Azerbaijan,” while also calling for what he described as Azerbaijan’s “legitimate concerns” to be addressed.
That coordination is not merely rhetorical. Turkey provided Azerbaijan with extensive political and military support during the 2020 Artsakh War, including Turkish-made combat drones, while Ankara and Baku had conducted major joint military exercises shortly before the fighting began.
Turkey has also kept its land border with Armenia closed since 1993. Years of Armenian-Turkish “normalization” talks have still not resulted in fully normalized relations.
Simonyan is therefore declaring that Turkey poses no threat to Armenia at a time when Ankara itself continues to tie its Armenia policy to its strategic relationship with Azerbaijan.
Improved dialogue with Turkey does not erase that relationship, nor the record behind it.
