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Washington Briefing: U.S. And Russia Detail Their Roles In Armenia-T

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  • Washington Briefing: U.S. And Russia Detail Their Roles In Armenia-T

    WASHINGTON BRIEFING: U.S. AND RUSSIA DETAIL THEIR ROLES IN ARMENIA-TURKEY DEAL
    by Emil Sanamyan

    http://www.reporter.am/go/article/2009-1 0-17-u-s--and-russia-detail-their-roles-in-armenia -turkey-deal
    Saturday October 17, 2009

    Reports by U.S. and Russian officials played up their respective
    interventions as decisive in getting Armenia and Turkey to sign the
    protocols on bilateral relations.

    The October 10 signing in Zurich, Switzerland, of the protocols,
    which require parliamentary ratification to take effect, was delayed
    by several hours after Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers Edward
    Nalbandian and Ahmet Davutoglu took issue with each other's proposed
    post-signing statements.

    En route from Zurich to London later that night, Secretary of
    State Hillary Clinton revealed that she and Assistant Secretary for
    Europe Phil Gordon "have been dealing with [Armenia-Turkey issues]
    for months."

    The United States initially had claimed no public role, with
    Switzerland serving as the formal mediator.

    Mrs. Clinton said she was on the phone with the Armenian and Turkish
    foreign ministers "to get everybody in the same place." She also
    talked to President Barack Obama "several times."

    "So that's when I went in and spent time talking through some of the
    concerns that had been expressed, and brought Minister Nalbandian
    with us back to the university," with other senior officials arriving
    there for the delayed signing ceremony.

    Meanwhile, citing an unnamed source in "one of the delegations,"
    the Russian daily Kommersant gave credit for "saving the day" to
    Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

    "While Secretary Clinton was trying to convince the sides to avoid a
    scandal, Lavrov, [European Union foreign affairs commissioner] Javier
    Solana, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, and Slovenian Foreign
    Minister [present on behalf of Council of Europe] Samuel Zbogar were
    watching the Russia-Germany soccer game."

    When the game was over, the Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers were
    presented with an ultimatum and a deadline to sign, Kommersant claimed.

    "At that moment Mr. Lavrov wrote a short note to Mr. Nalbandian. It had
    six words 'Edward! Agree to ceremony without statements,'" Kommersant's
    source reported. "The note was also co-signed by Kouchner, Solana,
    and Zbogar."

    The signing ceremony went ahead in silence, concluding with hugs,
    kisses, and no comments.

    Turkish leaders have since said they did not expect ratification any
    time soon. Mrs. Clinton acknowledged that ratification is "going to
    be difficult."

    "There is a lot of very difficult, complex issues that have to
    continually be discussed and worked out," she said following the
    signing. "The Armenians, as we saw with President [Serge] Sargsian's
    tour, have people around the world with strong feelings."
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