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Turkey, Armenia to normalise ties in landmark deal
Published: 10/10/2009 at 04:02 AM
Online news: World
Turkey and Armenia will sign landmark pacts in Geneva on Saturday to
normalise ties, in a major step to end nearly a century of hostility
over their bloody history, the Swiss government confirmed.
Thousands of Armenians took to the streets of the capital
Yerevan. Turkey and Armenia will sign landmark pacts in Geneva on
Saturday to normalise ties, in a major step to end nearly a century of
hostility over their bloody history, the Swiss government confirmed.
"The signing ceremony for protocols between the republic of Armenia
and the republic of Turkey will occur tomorrow (Saturday) in Zurich,"
the Swiss foreign ministry said Friday, after announcements by US and
Russian officials.
The agreement will be signed by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian and Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu at a ceremony
headed by Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey.
Berne has served as mediator between the two countries.
The ceremony will see the two neighbours, at odds over the World War I
massacres of Armenians under Ottoman rule, sign two protocols to
establish diplomatic ties and open their border after more than a
decade.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend the ceremony along
with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, EU foreign policy chief
Xavier Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Both countries have much to gain from reconciliation.
An agreement could help Turkey's troubled bid to join the European
Union and boost its desire for more influence in the Caucasus while
landlocked Armenia could see its economy improve and find itself
closer to the West.
But Saturday's signing marks only one step in a lengthy process during
which the two countries need their respective parliaments to ratify
the protocols in order to take effect.
Although both governments have the parliamentary majority for the
adoption of the protocols, they are not expected to rush ahead d
home for allowing the creation of a commission to study the
Ottoman-era massacres of Armenians under the deal with Turkey -- a
point that critics say calls into question Yerevan's genocide claims.
Armenians say that 1.5 million of their kinsmen were systematically
killed by Ottoman Turks during 1915-1917.
Thousands of Armenians took to the streets of the capital Yerevan
Friday to protest against the signing of the pacts.
Carrying placards reading "No Concessions to the Turks," up to 10,000
protesters marched from central Yerevan to a hilltop memorial to World
War I-era massacres of Armenians under Ottoman rule, an AFP reporter
saw.
Turkey, which says the figure is inflated and denies genocide took
place, has refused to establish diplomatic ties over Yerevan's
campaign to have the killings recognised as genocide.
A dispute over Nagorny-Karabakh -- an Armenian-majority enclave which
broke free from Azerbaijan after a war by Yerevan-backed Armenian
separatists in the early 1990s -- also has the potential to spoil the
rapprochement.
Armenia said Friday that talks with Azerbaijan over the disputed
Nagorny Karabakh region had been "constructive" but made no mention of
a potential breakthrough in the long-running conflict.
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani counterpart
Ilham Aliyev met late Thursday in the Moldovan capital Chisinau on the
sidelines of a summit of ex-Soviet countries, the Armenian presidency
said in a statement.
"During the three-hour meeting, the sides demonstrated constructive
attitudes for continuing the negotiations on the conflict's peaceful
resolution," the statement said.
In 1993, Turkey closed its border with Armenia to support close ally
Azerbaijan, which has strong ethnic, trade and energy links with
Ankara.
Turkish officials have said that the border will remain closed unless
Yerevan and Baku make progress towards resolving the conflict.
The signing ceremony will precede an eagerly anticipated World Cup
football qualification match between the two countries.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul has invited Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian to watch the second leg of the qualifier on Wednesday. It
remains unclear whether Sarkisian will come.
Gul visited Armenia in September 2008 for the first-leg.
Turkey, Armenia to normalise ties in landmark deal
Published: 10/10/2009 at 04:02 AM
Online news: World
Turkey and Armenia will sign landmark pacts in Geneva on Saturday to
normalise ties, in a major step to end nearly a century of hostility
over their bloody history, the Swiss government confirmed.
Thousands of Armenians took to the streets of the capital
Yerevan. Turkey and Armenia will sign landmark pacts in Geneva on
Saturday to normalise ties, in a major step to end nearly a century of
hostility over their bloody history, the Swiss government confirmed.
"The signing ceremony for protocols between the republic of Armenia
and the republic of Turkey will occur tomorrow (Saturday) in Zurich,"
the Swiss foreign ministry said Friday, after announcements by US and
Russian officials.
The agreement will be signed by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian and Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu at a ceremony
headed by Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey.
Berne has served as mediator between the two countries.
The ceremony will see the two neighbours, at odds over the World War I
massacres of Armenians under Ottoman rule, sign two protocols to
establish diplomatic ties and open their border after more than a
decade.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend the ceremony along
with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, EU foreign policy chief
Xavier Solana and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Both countries have much to gain from reconciliation.
An agreement could help Turkey's troubled bid to join the European
Union and boost its desire for more influence in the Caucasus while
landlocked Armenia could see its economy improve and find itself
closer to the West.
But Saturday's signing marks only one step in a lengthy process during
which the two countries need their respective parliaments to ratify
the protocols in order to take effect.
Although both governments have the parliamentary majority for the
adoption of the protocols, they are not expected to rush ahead d
home for allowing the creation of a commission to study the
Ottoman-era massacres of Armenians under the deal with Turkey -- a
point that critics say calls into question Yerevan's genocide claims.
Armenians say that 1.5 million of their kinsmen were systematically
killed by Ottoman Turks during 1915-1917.
Thousands of Armenians took to the streets of the capital Yerevan
Friday to protest against the signing of the pacts.
Carrying placards reading "No Concessions to the Turks," up to 10,000
protesters marched from central Yerevan to a hilltop memorial to World
War I-era massacres of Armenians under Ottoman rule, an AFP reporter
saw.
Turkey, which says the figure is inflated and denies genocide took
place, has refused to establish diplomatic ties over Yerevan's
campaign to have the killings recognised as genocide.
A dispute over Nagorny-Karabakh -- an Armenian-majority enclave which
broke free from Azerbaijan after a war by Yerevan-backed Armenian
separatists in the early 1990s -- also has the potential to spoil the
rapprochement.
Armenia said Friday that talks with Azerbaijan over the disputed
Nagorny Karabakh region had been "constructive" but made no mention of
a potential breakthrough in the long-running conflict.
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian and his Azerbaijani counterpart
Ilham Aliyev met late Thursday in the Moldovan capital Chisinau on the
sidelines of a summit of ex-Soviet countries, the Armenian presidency
said in a statement.
"During the three-hour meeting, the sides demonstrated constructive
attitudes for continuing the negotiations on the conflict's peaceful
resolution," the statement said.
In 1993, Turkey closed its border with Armenia to support close ally
Azerbaijan, which has strong ethnic, trade and energy links with
Ankara.
Turkish officials have said that the border will remain closed unless
Yerevan and Baku make progress towards resolving the conflict.
The signing ceremony will precede an eagerly anticipated World Cup
football qualification match between the two countries.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul has invited Armenian President Serzh
Sarkisian to watch the second leg of the qualifier on Wednesday. It
remains unclear whether Sarkisian will come.
Gul visited Armenia in September 2008 for the first-leg.