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TURKEY, ARMENIA ARE LIKELY TO EASE CONFLICT
By Paul Richter
Los Angeles Times
April 4 2009
President Obama is to visit Turkey in a few days, and the expected
deal would allow him to point to progress toward reconciliation
Reporting from Washington -- Turkey and Armenia are likely to announce
a deal soon aimed at easing their conflict, diplomats said Friday in
a development that would sweeten President Obama's visit to Turkey
next week.
The two countries are expected this month to announce an agreement
to resume official contacts and reopen borders that have been closed
since 1993, said the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
citing the sensitivity of the subject.
The likelihood of a breakthrough would allow the president to praise
progress toward reconciliation as he stops in Ankara, the Turkish
capital, and Istanbul on a two-day visit aimed at strengthening ties
to an ally the U.S. needs for help in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
But a deal between Armenia and Turkey could spell disappointment for
Armenian Americans who want Obama to fulfill his campaign pledge to
declare that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks beginning
in 1915 was a genocide.
With substantial progress toward rapprochement, Obama is likely to
postpone a genocide declaration in a presidential proclamation April
24, the annual remembrance day. The White House is expected to argue
that under the circumstances, the use of the term "genocide" in the
proclamation would anger Turkey and threaten the talks.
Ankara contends that the deaths were the result of war, not planned
genocide.
In London, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday
acknowledged that his country is headed toward better relations
with Armenia.
"We have taken steps toward such a decision," he said at a news
conference. "We have made ourselves ready."
To show its goodwill toward the U.S., Turkey has deployed ships
to fight piracy off Somalia and promised further help in Iraq and
Afghanistan. And Turkey's government radio and television service
this week began Armenian-language radio broadcasts.
However, Erdogan was adamant that the deaths nearly a century ago
were not the result of genocide.
Talks between the two countries intensified last fall after President
Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia.
Diplomats said the announcement could come before Obama's visit
to Turkey on Monday, or else on April 16, when the Turkish foreign
minister is scheduled to visit Yerevan, the Armenian capital, for a
regional meeting.
Mark Parris, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said an announcement
April 16 would be "almost as good" for Obama if he is looking for
a way to justify the politically difficult decision to postpone a
genocide declaration.
Soner Cagaptay, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy, said it would be difficult for Obama to label the mass
killing a genocide after visiting Turkey for two days to strengthen
bilateral ties. "It would be like saying 'I love you,' and then,
a day later, saying 'I don't like you.' "
Obama administration officials have said in response to questions
about their plans on the genocide resolution that their focus is on
helping improve relations between Turkey and Armenia. A White House
spokesman said Friday that he had no information on an impending deal.
By Paul Richter
Los Angeles Times
April 4 2009
President Obama is to visit Turkey in a few days, and the expected
deal would allow him to point to progress toward reconciliation
Reporting from Washington -- Turkey and Armenia are likely to announce
a deal soon aimed at easing their conflict, diplomats said Friday in
a development that would sweeten President Obama's visit to Turkey
next week.
The two countries are expected this month to announce an agreement
to resume official contacts and reopen borders that have been closed
since 1993, said the diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
citing the sensitivity of the subject.
The likelihood of a breakthrough would allow the president to praise
progress toward reconciliation as he stops in Ankara, the Turkish
capital, and Istanbul on a two-day visit aimed at strengthening ties
to an ally the U.S. needs for help in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
But a deal between Armenia and Turkey could spell disappointment for
Armenian Americans who want Obama to fulfill his campaign pledge to
declare that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks beginning
in 1915 was a genocide.
With substantial progress toward rapprochement, Obama is likely to
postpone a genocide declaration in a presidential proclamation April
24, the annual remembrance day. The White House is expected to argue
that under the circumstances, the use of the term "genocide" in the
proclamation would anger Turkey and threaten the talks.
Ankara contends that the deaths were the result of war, not planned
genocide.
In London, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday
acknowledged that his country is headed toward better relations
with Armenia.
"We have taken steps toward such a decision," he said at a news
conference. "We have made ourselves ready."
To show its goodwill toward the U.S., Turkey has deployed ships
to fight piracy off Somalia and promised further help in Iraq and
Afghanistan. And Turkey's government radio and television service
this week began Armenian-language radio broadcasts.
However, Erdogan was adamant that the deaths nearly a century ago
were not the result of genocide.
Talks between the two countries intensified last fall after President
Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia.
Diplomats said the announcement could come before Obama's visit
to Turkey on Monday, or else on April 16, when the Turkish foreign
minister is scheduled to visit Yerevan, the Armenian capital, for a
regional meeting.
Mark Parris, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey, said an announcement
April 16 would be "almost as good" for Obama if he is looking for
a way to justify the politically difficult decision to postpone a
genocide declaration.
Soner Cagaptay, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near
East Policy, said it would be difficult for Obama to label the mass
killing a genocide after visiting Turkey for two days to strengthen
bilateral ties. "It would be like saying 'I love you,' and then,
a day later, saying 'I don't like you.' "
Obama administration officials have said in response to questions
about their plans on the genocide resolution that their focus is on
helping improve relations between Turkey and Armenia. A White House
spokesman said Friday that he had no information on an impending deal.