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FOOTBALL DIPLOMACY SEALS THE DEAL BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY
The Times
October 10, 2009
Meetings between Armenian and Turkish leaders have prompted protests
from opponents in both countries but the talks could finally end a
century of enmity
Tony Halpin in Moscow
It is the World Cup final of football diplomacy: amid high tensions
and strong emotions, Armenia and Turkey will end a century of enmity
today in a process that was begun on the pitch.
Watched by a top flight of diplomats, the foreign ministers of Turkey
and Armenia are due to sign documents that will establish relations
between them for the first time and open Europe's last closed border.
The agreement has infuriated many Armenians, who see it as a betrayal
of 1½ million of their ancestors who were massacred in the crumbling
Ottoman Turkish Empire during the First World War.
The signing of two protocols in Switzerland is the culmination of
negotiations that began when Serzh Sargsyan, the Armenian President,
invited his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, to watch a football
World Cup qualifying match between the two countries in September
last year.
Mr Gul accepted and flew to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, even though
the neighbouring states had no diplomatic links. His invitation to Mr
Sargsyan to watch the return match in Turkey next Wednesday became
a deadline for establishing relations, af ter the Armenian leader
said that he would refuse to go unless a deal on opening their common
border had been reached.
The significance of today's ceremony in Zurich is being underscored
by the presence of Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State,
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, and Javier Solana,
the European Union foreign policy chief, who have all pushed hard
for a reconciliation.
The agreements provide for the establishment of joint commissions
on trade and political relations. Most controversially, they also
establish an historical commission to conduct an "impartial scientific
examination" of what Armenians call the first genocide of the 20th
century, in what is now eastern Turkey, in 1915.
The decision outraged millions of Armenians in the former Soviet
republic's worldwide diaspora, who are descendants of survivors
of the massacres. By agreeing to the commission, they say, their
Government insulted the memory of the victims and cast doubt on a
genocide acknowledged by most international historians.
Mr Sargsyan was met by furious Armenian demonstrators who denounced him
as a traitor when he made a whistlestop tour of diaspora communities
in France, Lebanon and the United States last week. The protocols have
also sparked anger in Armenia, where the nationalist political party
Dashnaktsutyun has quit Mr Sargsyan's ruling coalition in protest.
Turkey denies that genocide occur red and has waged a long diplomatic
battle to dissuade the United States and other countries from siding
with Armenia. President Obama declared before his election that he
would recognise the events of 1915 as genocide but avoided using
the word itself when he visited Turkey before the annual April 24
commemoration of the massacres.
Instead, he urged Armenia and Turkey to "deal with a difficult and
tragic history". Days later, the two countries said that they had
agreed on a "road map" intended to lead to today's establishment
of relations.
Despite the protests, a majority of the 3.2 million people in Armenia
support Mr Sargsyan's initiative, arguing that it will boost trade and
living standards for the landlocked republic's impoverished citizens.
Many Armenians already travel to Turkey to buy and sell goods. Turkey
views the agreement as a landmark in its efforts to be seen as a key
regional power in the Caucasus and Central Asia, where the US and
EU are eager to tap into vast reserves of oil and gas. The opening
of the border was a key goal for the West because it creates new
opportunities to run pipelines from Central Asia through the Causasus
to Europe, bypassing Russia and reducing the EU's dependence on the
Kremlin for energy.
It may also raise pressure to resolve the conflict between
Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan over the disputed territory
of=2 0NagornoKarabakh. The two countries fought a war over the
Armenian-dominated enclave in the early 1990s that left 25,000 dead
and created one million refugees.
After a brief opening when the Soviet Union collapsed, Turkey closed
its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan. Armenian
forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, backed by Yerevan, took control of the
enclave and occupied several regions of Azerbaijan in the war, but
international efforts to negotiate a lasting settlement have failed
to produce an agreement.
Mr Sargsyan and President Aliyev of Azerbaijan met for talks on
the issue in Moldova yesterday. Negotiations were described as
"constructive" although no breakthough was reported.
The Times
October 10, 2009
Meetings between Armenian and Turkish leaders have prompted protests
from opponents in both countries but the talks could finally end a
century of enmity
Tony Halpin in Moscow
It is the World Cup final of football diplomacy: amid high tensions
and strong emotions, Armenia and Turkey will end a century of enmity
today in a process that was begun on the pitch.
Watched by a top flight of diplomats, the foreign ministers of Turkey
and Armenia are due to sign documents that will establish relations
between them for the first time and open Europe's last closed border.
The agreement has infuriated many Armenians, who see it as a betrayal
of 1½ million of their ancestors who were massacred in the crumbling
Ottoman Turkish Empire during the First World War.
The signing of two protocols in Switzerland is the culmination of
negotiations that began when Serzh Sargsyan, the Armenian President,
invited his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul, to watch a football
World Cup qualifying match between the two countries in September
last year.
Mr Gul accepted and flew to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, even though
the neighbouring states had no diplomatic links. His invitation to Mr
Sargsyan to watch the return match in Turkey next Wednesday became
a deadline for establishing relations, af ter the Armenian leader
said that he would refuse to go unless a deal on opening their common
border had been reached.
The significance of today's ceremony in Zurich is being underscored
by the presence of Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State,
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, and Javier Solana,
the European Union foreign policy chief, who have all pushed hard
for a reconciliation.
The agreements provide for the establishment of joint commissions
on trade and political relations. Most controversially, they also
establish an historical commission to conduct an "impartial scientific
examination" of what Armenians call the first genocide of the 20th
century, in what is now eastern Turkey, in 1915.
The decision outraged millions of Armenians in the former Soviet
republic's worldwide diaspora, who are descendants of survivors
of the massacres. By agreeing to the commission, they say, their
Government insulted the memory of the victims and cast doubt on a
genocide acknowledged by most international historians.
Mr Sargsyan was met by furious Armenian demonstrators who denounced him
as a traitor when he made a whistlestop tour of diaspora communities
in France, Lebanon and the United States last week. The protocols have
also sparked anger in Armenia, where the nationalist political party
Dashnaktsutyun has quit Mr Sargsyan's ruling coalition in protest.
Turkey denies that genocide occur red and has waged a long diplomatic
battle to dissuade the United States and other countries from siding
with Armenia. President Obama declared before his election that he
would recognise the events of 1915 as genocide but avoided using
the word itself when he visited Turkey before the annual April 24
commemoration of the massacres.
Instead, he urged Armenia and Turkey to "deal with a difficult and
tragic history". Days later, the two countries said that they had
agreed on a "road map" intended to lead to today's establishment
of relations.
Despite the protests, a majority of the 3.2 million people in Armenia
support Mr Sargsyan's initiative, arguing that it will boost trade and
living standards for the landlocked republic's impoverished citizens.
Many Armenians already travel to Turkey to buy and sell goods. Turkey
views the agreement as a landmark in its efforts to be seen as a key
regional power in the Caucasus and Central Asia, where the US and
EU are eager to tap into vast reserves of oil and gas. The opening
of the border was a key goal for the West because it creates new
opportunities to run pipelines from Central Asia through the Causasus
to Europe, bypassing Russia and reducing the EU's dependence on the
Kremlin for energy.
It may also raise pressure to resolve the conflict between
Armenia and neighbouring Azerbaijan over the disputed territory
of=2 0NagornoKarabakh. The two countries fought a war over the
Armenian-dominated enclave in the early 1990s that left 25,000 dead
and created one million refugees.
After a brief opening when the Soviet Union collapsed, Turkey closed
its border with Armenia in 1993 in support of Azerbaijan. Armenian
forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, backed by Yerevan, took control of the
enclave and occupied several regions of Azerbaijan in the war, but
international efforts to negotiate a lasting settlement have failed
to produce an agreement.
Mr Sargsyan and President Aliyev of Azerbaijan met for talks on
the issue in Moldova yesterday. Negotiations were described as
"constructive" although no breakthough was reported.