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TURKEY-ARMENIA RELATIONS TO COME UP IN CLINTON'S UPCOMING TRIP TO YEREVAN
Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 30 2010
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon said Turkey-Armenia
relations would come up during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton's upcoming trip to Yerevan.
Gordon held a press briefing on Tuesday on Clinton's upcoming trip
to Central Europe and the Caucasus.
In response to a question from a reporter, Gordon said he was sure
Turkey-Armenia relations would be discussed during Clinton's trip
to Yerevan.
Gordon pointed out that the protocols signed by Turkey and Armenia
last October were not yet ratified, and Armenian President Serzh
Sargsian announced last spring that he was suspending his pursuit of
ratification until the Turkish side was ready to move forward with
ratification of protocols.
Gordon said the trip would be a chance for Clinton to speak to
President Sargsian and the Armenians about how they saw that situation.
"We continue to believe it would be a good thing for the protocols
to get ratified and implemented and have an open border with Turkey
that would benefit both Armenia and Turkey," said Gordon.
The protocols signed by Ankara and Yerevan in October 2009 aim to
normalize relations and reopen the border which Turkey closed in 1994
following the Armenian occupation of Karabakh region in Azerbaijan.
However, the protocols must be ratified by parliaments of the two
countries and none of the parties yet proceeded with the ratification.
Answering a question on Turkey's shutting its airspace to Israeli
aircraft, Gordon said the flotilla incident was a setback for decades
of close cooperation between Turkey and Israel.
"And since the flotilla incident, we've seen tensions in that
relationship and talk of specific steps. And any steps away from
what had been a really flourishing security, diplomatic, tourism, and
economic relationship is a setback and is unfortunate," said Gordon.
Relations between Turkey and Israel saw a heavy blow after Israeli
commandos raided late May a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and killed eight
Turkish nationals and a U.S. citizen of Turkish descent.
From: A. Papazian
Journal of Turkish Weekly
June 30 2010
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon said Turkey-Armenia
relations would come up during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton's upcoming trip to Yerevan.
Gordon held a press briefing on Tuesday on Clinton's upcoming trip
to Central Europe and the Caucasus.
In response to a question from a reporter, Gordon said he was sure
Turkey-Armenia relations would be discussed during Clinton's trip
to Yerevan.
Gordon pointed out that the protocols signed by Turkey and Armenia
last October were not yet ratified, and Armenian President Serzh
Sargsian announced last spring that he was suspending his pursuit of
ratification until the Turkish side was ready to move forward with
ratification of protocols.
Gordon said the trip would be a chance for Clinton to speak to
President Sargsian and the Armenians about how they saw that situation.
"We continue to believe it would be a good thing for the protocols
to get ratified and implemented and have an open border with Turkey
that would benefit both Armenia and Turkey," said Gordon.
The protocols signed by Ankara and Yerevan in October 2009 aim to
normalize relations and reopen the border which Turkey closed in 1994
following the Armenian occupation of Karabakh region in Azerbaijan.
However, the protocols must be ratified by parliaments of the two
countries and none of the parties yet proceeded with the ratification.
Answering a question on Turkey's shutting its airspace to Israeli
aircraft, Gordon said the flotilla incident was a setback for decades
of close cooperation between Turkey and Israel.
"And since the flotilla incident, we've seen tensions in that
relationship and talk of specific steps. And any steps away from
what had been a really flourishing security, diplomatic, tourism, and
economic relationship is a setback and is unfortunate," said Gordon.
Relations between Turkey and Israel saw a heavy blow after Israeli
commandos raided late May a Gaza-bound aid flotilla and killed eight
Turkish nationals and a U.S. citizen of Turkish descent.
From: A. Papazian