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ANKARA: Armenia Gives Assurances On Border Recognition

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  • ANKARA: Armenia Gives Assurances On Border Recognition

    ARMENIA GIVES ASSURANCES ON BORDER RECOGNITION

    Today's Zaman
    April 15 2009
    Turkey

    Armenia has given assurances that it will make no territorial
    claim on Turkey, as officials of the two countries inch closer to
    an agreement that would pave the way for normalization of relations
    after a 16-year hiatus. Sources in Yerevan who are close to the talks
    also say the final deal is likely to be declared in a third country,
    most probably Switzerland, which has reportedly hosted closed-door
    negotiations since 2007.

    The Turkish-Armenian talks have been held in strict secrecy and
    officials are tightlipped on what a possible deal would include. But
    as expectations grow higher for a breakthrough soon, details are
    beginning to emerge, such as the Armenian guarantee on recognition
    of the current Armenian-Turkish border. Ankara, which closed the
    border and severed its diplomatic ties with Armenia in 1993, links
    normalization to a set of conditions that include formal guarantees
    from Armenia recognizing the current border with Turkey. Yerevan
    has never formally claimed any rights on Turkish territory but the
    Armenian constitution describes eastern Anatolia as western Armenia.

    Asked whether Armenia recognizes a 1920 treaty on the border with
    Turkey, an Armenian source said: "We are talking about the opening
    of the border. Which border is to be opened? Can a border be opened
    if it is not recognized?"

    The final Turkish-Armenian deal is now expected to include provisions
    that the two countries respect each other's territorial integrity
    and borders.

    The agreement is also expected to unveil plans to establish low-level
    diplomatic relations and create an intergovernmental committee to
    study history. Armenia claims 1.5 million Armenians were killed
    in a systematic genocide campaign at the hands of the late Ottoman
    Empire during the World War I, while Turkey categorically rejects the
    accusations of genocide. However, it is expected to take years for the
    committee to be established and announce findings on its study. Even
    so, although no progress is seen to be forthcoming, Armenia's nod
    to the establishment of such a committee of historians underlines
    that the dispute over the World War I events is a matter of history,
    not a legal or a political one.

    On another problematic issue, the ongoing Armenian occupation of
    Azerbaijani territory in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, the agreement
    is expected to make a general reference to the problem. But there
    will be no deadline mentioned for a resolution.

    The government has been holding closed-door talks with Armenia since
    2007 on the normalization of ties, signaling a shift in Turkey's
    longstanding policy, which links restoration of relations to Armenian
    withdrawal from Azerbaijani territory and a reversal in the Armenian
    policy of lobbying for international recognition of Armenian genocide
    claims at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire. Armenian recognition
    of the current border is another condition.

    Azerbaijan, which fears it would lose a key leverage in its
    Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with Armenia if Ankara agrees to have
    normal ties with Yerevan anyway, has expressed concern over the
    Turkish-Armenian rapprochement and Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev
    boycotted a the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
    meeting held in Ä°stanbul on April 6-7.

    The issue has sparked heated debates in Parliament as well. Opposition
    parties yesterday lashed out at the government for its plans to
    normalize relations with Armenia without Yerevan ending its occupation
    of Azerbaijani territory.

    "How can we ignore the ongoing occupation of Azerbaijan?" Deniz Baykal,
    leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), told
    a weekly meeting of his party in Parliament. "How can Turkey follow
    a policy that would legitimize seizure of Azerbaijan's legitimate
    territorial rights?"

    The closed border with Armenia is a source of irritation in Ankara's
    relations with the European Union, which it aspires to join, and
    the United States. It also hampers the government's plans to expand
    influence in the southern Caucasus.

    "No one can open the border with Armenia unless claims based on
    the genocide lies are withdrawn and Nagorno-Karabakh is returned to
    Azerbaijan," said Devlet Bahceli, head of the Nationalist Movement
    Party (MHP) and a vehement opponent of normalization in Armenia ties.

    "I am warning the government: Your approach to Armenia harms our
    dignity," Bahceli said, maintaining that he completely shared the
    Azerbaijani people's "rightful concerns." A group of three deputies
    from Bahceli's MHP departed for Baku yesterday for talks with Azeri
    officials.

    Dismissing calls from the opposition to share with the public details
    about the ongoing talks, President Abdullah Gul said Turkey wants
    a normalization that would help stability and peace in the whole of
    the Caucasus and added that it would not be in line with diplomatic
    tendencies to disclose details of the talks.

    Turkish journalists briefly detained

    Meanwhile, five Turkish journalists, including this reporter, were
    briefly detained on Monday by Armenian forces after they attempted
    to film the Turkish-Armenian border without permission from Armenian
    authorities.

    The journalists were taken to a police station on the border,
    where they were offered tea, coffee and cookies. The journalists
    were released after two hours, reporting cordial treatment by the
    Armenian forces.
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