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  • Turkey sets conditions for Armenia

    Turkey sets conditions for Armenia

    Sunday, October 11, 2009
    Source: Al Jazeera and agencies

    Turkey and Armenia signed the landmark
    accord in Zurich on Saturday [AFP]


    Turkey's prime minister has said that the opening of the country's
    border with Armenia will be linked to progress on the disputed region
    of Nagorno-Karabakh.

    "We want all the borders to be opened at the same time...," Recep
    Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday at a meeting of officials from his party.

    "But as long as Armenia has not withdrawn from Azerbaijani territory
    that it is occupying, Turkey cannot have a positive attitude on this
    subject," he said, referring to the Nagorny-Karabakh region.

    The remarks cast doubt on a landmark accord signed between Turkey and
    Armenia on Saturday, that sought to normalise diplomatic ties and
    re-open borders after a century of hostility.

    A long-running dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh - an Armenian-majority
    enclave which broke free from Turkish-backed Azerbaijan after a war -
    has been a stumbling block towards reconciliation between the two
    countries.

    Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 to support Azerbaijan.

    Historic accord

    Saturday's accord, mediated by Switzerland, were signed in Zurich by
    Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey's foreign minister, and Edward Nalbandian, his
    Armenian counterpart.

    In depth


    'We will see our borders open'
    Video: Thaw in Armenian-Turkish accords
    Video: Turkey-Armenia rift narrows
    Turkey-Armenia Protocols
    Analysis: Armenians divided on Turkey accords
    Focus: Ending the Turkey Armenia standoff



    Last-minute disagreements had delayed the ceremony for three hours.

    The accord is the culmination of more than a year of Swiss-mediated
    talks.

    The protocols signed between the two countries would still need
    ratification by their respective parliaments.

    That endorsement will have to come as nationalists on both sides
    protest the accord, particularly an Armenian diaspora which is
    demanding that Turkey acknowledge the killings of 1.5 million Armenians
    during World War I as genocide.

    Turkey has disputed the claims of genocide, with support from the US
    and UK, saying that the real death toll is lower.

    Many Turks see the fighting as a civil war caused by the collapse of
    the Ottoman Empire during which an unverifiable number of Turks also
    died - although both sides agree that more Armenians than Turks were
    killed.

    Ratification

    Both governments have majorities in parliament but are expected to hold
    back on immediately ratifying the protocols due to the opposition.



    "Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught, reporting from Karakoyunlu on Turkey's
    border with Armenia, said: "These protocols are powerful, but they have
    no legally enforceable status.

    "They are reliant on the goodwill and moral authority of the parties
    who are the participants in it.

    "What happens next is ratification ... they've got to sell this to
    their people and the politicians.

    "If they push it though and they ratify it in parliament, we see two
    things: immediately, the establishment of diplomatic relations; then
    within two months the opening of borders."

    For now, however, the question of reconciliation remains contentious at
    the very least.

    As many as 10,000 people marched from Yerevan, the Armenian capital, to
    a hilltop memorial to World War I-era massacres on Friday to condemn
    the accords, some carrying placards reading "No Concessions to the
    Turks".

    The move is expected to help Ankara in its bid to join the EU, while
    Armenia may benefit from closer ties to the West and greater economic
    openness with Turkey.
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