YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–The Krasnodar territory of Russia now suffers from the problem of return of Meskhet-Turks to their historical native land–the problem that was not solved in due time–Governor of the Krasnodar territory of Russia Alexander Tkachev said in an interview with the Yerkramas newspaper of the Armenia’s of the south of Russia.
Saying that "there is an international agreement on transferring Meskhet-Turks to Georgia–but they do not want to return there"–the governor emphasized that Meskhet-Turks start to oust the local population from profitable trade points–markets–"some of them prefer stealing to work and are engaged in drug trafficking."
Saying that in the regions of the territory where Turk-Meskhets live compactly "confrontations persists and the consequences may be unpredictable"–the governor expressed the opinion that "militia should work to stop any illegal actions. The local administration is going to defend Kuban from all those who forget that they are guests here and should behave accordingly–without abusing the hospitality of the local population," said Alexander Tkachev.
At the same time–Alexander Tkachev stated that he would not tolerate "any discrimination on ethnic grounds in appointing people to the bodies of state and municipal government." For example–the governor said that proceeding from the professional factor he signed decrees appointing Nikolay Yaralian (Department of Economy and Revenue Forecast) and Eduard Aslanian (Department of Public Health) to leadership positions within the Krasnodar administration.
Saying that the administration of the Krasnodar territory is interested in attracting investmen’s in the territory’s economy–the governor expressed a hope that Armenian businessmen will "turn their eyes to Kuban–which has become a second home first for Armenian refugees during the first genocide of the 20th century in Turkey–and then after the massacres in Azerbaijan."
Cooperation between Armenia and Russia is steadily on the rise and that now the task of developing mutually advantageous cooperation between the two countries in trade and economic relations is high on the agenda for Russia and for Armenia. The governor said that during the meetings in Armenia held within the framework of the visit of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to the country–the leaders of a number of regions of Russia got an opportunity to take an immediate part in developing economic cooperation.