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EX-FOREIGN MINISTER OF ARMENIA CRITICIZES POLICY OF INCUMBENT ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES
ArmInfo
2010-04-27 12:23:00
ArmInfo. Ex-foreign minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian has criticized
the incumbent Armenian authorities' policy concerning both Turkey
and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Civilitas Foundation quotes Vartan Oskanian as saying: "It
was clear from the beginning that a prolonged presentation of the
desirable as real is not sustainable, and that the government would
have to finally acknowledge reality. I am astonished by two things,
however. First, the government is openly acknowledging that for one
whole year they watched as Turkey placed preconditions before them,
Turkey exploited the process for its own benefit, and they not only
tolerated this, but continuously insisted that this is not happening
and that this whole process is a big success and an unprecedented
diplomatic victory.
Second, if there were half a dozen possible exit strategies from
this situation - from doing nothing to revoking Armenia's signature -
the government has chosen the option least beneficial to us. Turkey
no longer has an obligation to open the border before the Karabakh
conflict is resolved which is what Turkey had wanted all along. The
Armenian side did that which is most desirable for Turkey: neither
ratified the protocols nor revoked them thus giving Turkey the
opportunity to continue to remain actively engaged in the Karabakh
process.
For a whole year, the authorities rejected the problems in the
Armenia-Turkey process and responded to all criticism by insisting
that all is well. Today, in fact, we see that they did understand
that things were not proceeding as desired, yet they prolonged the
process for more than a year, hoping that it would be possible to
avoid accepting the truthfulness of the criticism.
Today, I want to invite attention to the fact that the same
problems are inherent in the Karabakh process. In response to my
criticism, they continue to insist that all is well, and there are
no dangerous developments. But this is no time to gloat. Nor is this
about stubbornly insisting on the absolute truthfulness of one's own
position. The facts cannot be ignored. The negotiations are proceeding
unfavorably. The situation must be corrected, even if that requires
making clear policy changes. The government must boldly assess the
situation, and acknowledge its seriousness so that we will not find
ourselves in the same situation regarding Karabakh.
But for that, there first must be acknowledgement and acceptance that
there are in fact problems, there must be an attempt to identify their
root causes, and no longer resort to the tradition of negating reality.
I am also worried about another trend. For two years, various
government representatives applauded the Armenia- Turkey process
and ignored all the problems. They raised public expectations about
a speedy normalization of relations and opening of the border. And
when none of that happened for reasons that were obvious from the
beginning, there is an opposite and equally extreme reaction. The
same public relations machine is subsumed by anti-Turkish propaganda.
Various government representatives have adopted extremist stereotypical
positions. Incautious policies all- around have brought us to a
dead-end in Armenia-Turkey relations and this new tendency can further
deteriorate an already-delicate situation, and render impossible
necessary future positive developments".
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
ArmInfo
2010-04-27 12:23:00
ArmInfo. Ex-foreign minister of Armenia Vartan Oskanian has criticized
the incumbent Armenian authorities' policy concerning both Turkey
and Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Civilitas Foundation quotes Vartan Oskanian as saying: "It
was clear from the beginning that a prolonged presentation of the
desirable as real is not sustainable, and that the government would
have to finally acknowledge reality. I am astonished by two things,
however. First, the government is openly acknowledging that for one
whole year they watched as Turkey placed preconditions before them,
Turkey exploited the process for its own benefit, and they not only
tolerated this, but continuously insisted that this is not happening
and that this whole process is a big success and an unprecedented
diplomatic victory.
Second, if there were half a dozen possible exit strategies from
this situation - from doing nothing to revoking Armenia's signature -
the government has chosen the option least beneficial to us. Turkey
no longer has an obligation to open the border before the Karabakh
conflict is resolved which is what Turkey had wanted all along. The
Armenian side did that which is most desirable for Turkey: neither
ratified the protocols nor revoked them thus giving Turkey the
opportunity to continue to remain actively engaged in the Karabakh
process.
For a whole year, the authorities rejected the problems in the
Armenia-Turkey process and responded to all criticism by insisting
that all is well. Today, in fact, we see that they did understand
that things were not proceeding as desired, yet they prolonged the
process for more than a year, hoping that it would be possible to
avoid accepting the truthfulness of the criticism.
Today, I want to invite attention to the fact that the same
problems are inherent in the Karabakh process. In response to my
criticism, they continue to insist that all is well, and there are
no dangerous developments. But this is no time to gloat. Nor is this
about stubbornly insisting on the absolute truthfulness of one's own
position. The facts cannot be ignored. The negotiations are proceeding
unfavorably. The situation must be corrected, even if that requires
making clear policy changes. The government must boldly assess the
situation, and acknowledge its seriousness so that we will not find
ourselves in the same situation regarding Karabakh.
But for that, there first must be acknowledgement and acceptance that
there are in fact problems, there must be an attempt to identify their
root causes, and no longer resort to the tradition of negating reality.
I am also worried about another trend. For two years, various
government representatives applauded the Armenia- Turkey process
and ignored all the problems. They raised public expectations about
a speedy normalization of relations and opening of the border. And
when none of that happened for reasons that were obvious from the
beginning, there is an opposite and equally extreme reaction. The
same public relations machine is subsumed by anti-Turkish propaganda.
Various government representatives have adopted extremist stereotypical
positions. Incautious policies all- around have brought us to a
dead-end in Armenia-Turkey relations and this new tendency can further
deteriorate an already-delicate situation, and render impossible
necessary future positive developments".
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress