Event

In 1991 Turkey recognized Armenia's independence from the Soviet Union. However, it refused to establish diplomatic relations nor did it open the land border with Armenia. For the last 26 years, a number of initiatives have tried to find solutions to the problem, but the two countries still have no diplomatic relations, and the border remains hermetically sealed. The closed border and non-existence of diplomatic relations, which are widely seen as the last reminders of the Cold War era in Europe, significantly hinder the development of Armenia and eastern regions of Turkey.

In this seminar, Vahram Ter-Matevosyan will discuss the past efforts to establish diplomatic relations and look at current obstacles that impede the establishment of bilateral ties. It will also look at some methodological mistakes that have created the present imbroglio.

Vahram Ter-Matevosyan is Assistant Professor at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, American University of Armenia and he is also the Head of the Turkish Studies Department at the Institute for Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia. He has previously worked at the Ministry of Defense of Armenia.

His previous work has been published in Turkish Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, Insight Turkey, Europe-Asia Studies, Eurasian Geography and Economy, Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Iran and the Caucasus, etc. He has authored an award-winning monograph Islam in the Social and Political Life of Turkey (1970-2001). His next book Turkey, Kemalism and the Soviet Union will be published in 2018 with Palgrave Macmillan.

Chair is Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Research group on Russia, Eurasia and the Arctic at NUPI, Helge Blakkisrud.