Armen Ayvazyan is the Director of the Ararat Center for Strategic Research. He is also a professor of political science at the Armenian State Academy of Governance, an adjunct professor at the American University of Armenia, and a senior researcher at Matenadaran (the Institute of Medieval Manuscripts).

Ayvazyan received his doctoral degree in 2004, having written his thesis on "Essential Elements for Armenia's National Security Doctrine". In 1997-1998 he was a visiting Fulbright Scholar at Stanford University. From 1992 to 1994 he worked as Assistant to President Levon Ter Petrosyan, Adviser to the Foreign Minister of Armenia, and Acting Head of the Armenian Delegation to the OSCE.

Ayvazyan's stance on relations with Turkey – which he often articulates in leading Armenian newspapers, Armenian and Russian websites, and Armenian talk shows – is extremely hawkish. Normalisation, he argues, should not take place until and unless Turkey meets certain conditions: stopping the blockade, recognizing the genocide, paying reparations, and returning territories in eastern Turkey. Ayvazyan believes that Turkey's unequivocal support to Azerbaijan means that is keen on weakening and destroying Armenia. He has written dozens of articles on the Armenian-Turkish "conflict" and ways of solving it. These are available on his personal website (and on that of the Ararat Center):

www.hayq.org/index.php?p=8&l=eng

www.ararat-center.org/index.php?p=22&l=eng#haytur

"Ararat" Center for Strategic Research
Yerevan, Armenia

Tel: + 374 10 274833

ayvazyan@ararat-center.org
www.ararat-center.org, www.hayq.org