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ANKARA-YEREVAN DIPLOMACY ACCELERATING
Turkish Daily News
Sept 9 2008
Football diplomacy warms atmosphere and lays the groundwork for future
direct and frequent contacts between Turkey and Armenia. Foreign
Ministers Babacan and Nalbandian will meet in New York later this
month on the sidelines of annual UN gathering
After the removal of a key psychological barrier between Turkey and
Armenia through the weekend's football diplomacy, the two countries'
foreign ministers have taken further steps toward the creation of a
climate of peace.
Turkey's Ali Babacan and Armenia's Edward Nalbandian will meet in New
York on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly meetings
from Sept. 23 to Oct. 1.
The announcement of the face-to-face meeting followed the first-ever
visit by a Turkish president to Armenia.
While the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia had already sometimes
met on the sidelines of international events, the recent momentum
created a more formal framework for the visit.
"We want this positive momentum to continue," said a Turkish diplomat
to the Turkish Daily News.
Unlike diplomat-level gatherings in third countries, the New York
meeting is believed to lay the groundwork for direct and frequent
contacts on the Ankara-Yerevan axis at the foreign ministerial level
in the near future.
This development comes on the heels of the 2.5-hour so-called "midnight
diplomacy" between Babacan and Nalbandian in Yerevan. Diplomatic
sources said the meeting, also attended by Ambassador Unal Ceviköz,
the deputy undersecretary of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, and Armenian
diplomats focused on regional issues.
The upcoming days could see heavy diplomatic traffic around the
development of ties on a number of issues, including the re-opening
of the closed border, which seriously hampers Armenia's opening to
the world, and regarding Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory
occupied by Armenian troops.
Direct negotiations are already in place under the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe's, or OSCE, Minsk Group for a final
settlement, but Turkey could play a role in facilitating dialogue
between Yerevan and Baku.
President Abdullah Gul will fly to Azerbaijan on Wednesday for a
one-day visit, said presidential sources.
On Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey favors a peaceful solution through dialogue
but is cold to playing a "mediator" role because it is not considered
a neutral party by Armenians given that the border with Armenia was
closed in 1993 in protest of the occupation of Azerbaijani territory
by Yerevan. The Turkish-Armenian rapprochement could only trigger
a solution to the dispute after Turkey uses its influence over its
regional ally Azerbaijan according to Turkish sources.
Baku has refused to approach compromise before Armenian withdrawal
from Nagorno-Karabakh.
No contentious issues arise
In a rare move breaking taboos and opening a brand new chapter in
bilateral ties, Gul watched the football match Saturday in Yerevan
alongside his Armenian counterpart, Serge Sarkisian. The two pledged
to overcome decades of enmity between their two nations.
Speaking to reporters on his return flight, Gul said neither the
dispute over the alleged genocide of Armenians under Ottoman Turks nor
the closed border figured into the meeting with Sarkisian, suggesting
the two leaders had been careful to avoid contentious issues. Gul
clearly said his Armenian host made no reference to "the so-called
genocide claims."
The president invited his Armenian counterpart to watch the return
match of the Turk-Armenian national teams set for next year in
Istanbul. The Armenian president has not yet given a response to
Gul's offer.
"It is too early to make a decision," said diplomatic sources given
that it took a long time for the Turkish president to decide whether
to go to Yerevan.
Turks deem Yerevan visit positive
In a quick analysis of the aftermath of Gul's Yerevan visit, a
Metropoll survey revealed that the majority of the Turks - 69.6
percent - considered the visit "positive," while only 15 percent of
the respondents said it was not productive.
Some 62.8 percent said Turkey should improve diplomatic and economic
ties with Armenia, according to the same survey. A total of 25.9
percent said the status quo in Turkish-Armenian relations should
be maintained.
This suggests the public supports the government's policy of bettering
troubled relations with Yerevan, in contrast to the line taken by the
opposition parties. Both the Republican People's Party, or CHP, and
the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, lashed out at the presidential
visit. A total 65.6 percent of the respondents said they disagreed
with the CHP-MHP policies, while only 24.9 percent expressed approval
of the opposition's approach.
--Boundary_(ID_we/HJGVqMrNdOPejbdl+tA)- -
From: Baghdasarian
Turkish Daily News
Sept 9 2008
Football diplomacy warms atmosphere and lays the groundwork for future
direct and frequent contacts between Turkey and Armenia. Foreign
Ministers Babacan and Nalbandian will meet in New York later this
month on the sidelines of annual UN gathering
After the removal of a key psychological barrier between Turkey and
Armenia through the weekend's football diplomacy, the two countries'
foreign ministers have taken further steps toward the creation of a
climate of peace.
Turkey's Ali Babacan and Armenia's Edward Nalbandian will meet in New
York on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly meetings
from Sept. 23 to Oct. 1.
The announcement of the face-to-face meeting followed the first-ever
visit by a Turkish president to Armenia.
While the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia had already sometimes
met on the sidelines of international events, the recent momentum
created a more formal framework for the visit.
"We want this positive momentum to continue," said a Turkish diplomat
to the Turkish Daily News.
Unlike diplomat-level gatherings in third countries, the New York
meeting is believed to lay the groundwork for direct and frequent
contacts on the Ankara-Yerevan axis at the foreign ministerial level
in the near future.
This development comes on the heels of the 2.5-hour so-called "midnight
diplomacy" between Babacan and Nalbandian in Yerevan. Diplomatic
sources said the meeting, also attended by Ambassador Unal Ceviköz,
the deputy undersecretary of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, and Armenian
diplomats focused on regional issues.
The upcoming days could see heavy diplomatic traffic around the
development of ties on a number of issues, including the re-opening
of the closed border, which seriously hampers Armenia's opening to
the world, and regarding Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory
occupied by Armenian troops.
Direct negotiations are already in place under the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe's, or OSCE, Minsk Group for a final
settlement, but Turkey could play a role in facilitating dialogue
between Yerevan and Baku.
President Abdullah Gul will fly to Azerbaijan on Wednesday for a
one-day visit, said presidential sources.
On Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkey favors a peaceful solution through dialogue
but is cold to playing a "mediator" role because it is not considered
a neutral party by Armenians given that the border with Armenia was
closed in 1993 in protest of the occupation of Azerbaijani territory
by Yerevan. The Turkish-Armenian rapprochement could only trigger
a solution to the dispute after Turkey uses its influence over its
regional ally Azerbaijan according to Turkish sources.
Baku has refused to approach compromise before Armenian withdrawal
from Nagorno-Karabakh.
No contentious issues arise
In a rare move breaking taboos and opening a brand new chapter in
bilateral ties, Gul watched the football match Saturday in Yerevan
alongside his Armenian counterpart, Serge Sarkisian. The two pledged
to overcome decades of enmity between their two nations.
Speaking to reporters on his return flight, Gul said neither the
dispute over the alleged genocide of Armenians under Ottoman Turks nor
the closed border figured into the meeting with Sarkisian, suggesting
the two leaders had been careful to avoid contentious issues. Gul
clearly said his Armenian host made no reference to "the so-called
genocide claims."
The president invited his Armenian counterpart to watch the return
match of the Turk-Armenian national teams set for next year in
Istanbul. The Armenian president has not yet given a response to
Gul's offer.
"It is too early to make a decision," said diplomatic sources given
that it took a long time for the Turkish president to decide whether
to go to Yerevan.
Turks deem Yerevan visit positive
In a quick analysis of the aftermath of Gul's Yerevan visit, a
Metropoll survey revealed that the majority of the Turks - 69.6
percent - considered the visit "positive," while only 15 percent of
the respondents said it was not productive.
Some 62.8 percent said Turkey should improve diplomatic and economic
ties with Armenia, according to the same survey. A total of 25.9
percent said the status quo in Turkish-Armenian relations should
be maintained.
This suggests the public supports the government's policy of bettering
troubled relations with Yerevan, in contrast to the line taken by the
opposition parties. Both the Republican People's Party, or CHP, and
the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, lashed out at the presidential
visit. A total 65.6 percent of the respondents said they disagreed
with the CHP-MHP policies, while only 24.9 percent expressed approval
of the opposition's approach.
--Boundary_(ID_we/HJGVqMrNdOPejbdl+tA)- -
From: Baghdasarian