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Turkey, Armenia to sign peace agreement
CNN
October 10, 2009 -- Updated 1839 GMT (0239 HKT)
ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- The governments of Armenia and Turkey will sign a
peace agreement in Zurich on Saturday that would normalize relations after
nearly a century of animosity between the neighboring nations, the Swiss
government said Friday.
The signing ceremony comes more than a month after Armenia and Turkey
announced they had agreed to start six weeks of "internal political
consultations" on two protocols aimed at establishing diplomatic and
bilateral relations.
The Swiss-mediated peace deal would also open the border between the
countries, which has been shut since 1993. The border was closed after
Turkey objected to Armenia's war with Turkish ally Azerbaijan over the
disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabagh. Neither country has an embassy in
the other's capital.
Turkish-Armenian relations have often been overshadowed by the dispute over
the massacre of ethnic Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire,
more than 90 years ago. Armenians accuse Ottoman Turks of committing
genocide, killing more then a million Armenians starting in 1915. Modern-day
Turkey vehemently rejects the allegations.
The proposed protocols for normalizing relations call for creating a
committee of international experts to research archives and "restore mutual
confidence between the two nations." There is no mention of the disputed
territory of Karabagh, which Armenian troops have controlled since the 1993
Armenian-Azerbaijan war.
But the success of the protocols is still uncertain, as the parliaments of
both countries still must ratify the agreement.
A senior U.S. State Department official -- authorized to brief reporters
without attribution because of diplomatic sensitivities -- said the
situation remains "difficult."
"There's opposition both in Turkey and in Armenia," the senior official said
Thursday, "but both governments realize ultimately it's in their interest to
have normalized relations and an open border after years of tension and the
economic isolation, particularly of Armenia."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend the signing, along with
dignitaries from several other countries, including the European Union,
according to the Swiss government.
CNN
October 10, 2009 -- Updated 1839 GMT (0239 HKT)
ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- The governments of Armenia and Turkey will sign a
peace agreement in Zurich on Saturday that would normalize relations after
nearly a century of animosity between the neighboring nations, the Swiss
government said Friday.
The signing ceremony comes more than a month after Armenia and Turkey
announced they had agreed to start six weeks of "internal political
consultations" on two protocols aimed at establishing diplomatic and
bilateral relations.
The Swiss-mediated peace deal would also open the border between the
countries, which has been shut since 1993. The border was closed after
Turkey objected to Armenia's war with Turkish ally Azerbaijan over the
disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabagh. Neither country has an embassy in
the other's capital.
Turkish-Armenian relations have often been overshadowed by the dispute over
the massacre of ethnic Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire,
more than 90 years ago. Armenians accuse Ottoman Turks of committing
genocide, killing more then a million Armenians starting in 1915. Modern-day
Turkey vehemently rejects the allegations.
The proposed protocols for normalizing relations call for creating a
committee of international experts to research archives and "restore mutual
confidence between the two nations." There is no mention of the disputed
territory of Karabagh, which Armenian troops have controlled since the 1993
Armenian-Azerbaijan war.
But the success of the protocols is still uncertain, as the parliaments of
both countries still must ratify the agreement.
A senior U.S. State Department official -- authorized to brief reporters
without attribution because of diplomatic sensitivities -- said the
situation remains "difficult."
"There's opposition both in Turkey and in Armenia," the senior official said
Thursday, "but both governments realize ultimately it's in their interest to
have normalized relations and an open border after years of tension and the
economic isolation, particularly of Armenia."
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will attend the signing, along with
dignitaries from several other countries, including the European Union,
according to the Swiss government.