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TURKEY REBUFFS US CALL ON THAW WITH ARMENIA
Hurriyet
June 6 2012
Turkey
Turkey rejects on Hillary Clinton's calls for Ankara to normalize
ties with Armenia, noting that a ruling by an Armenian court is main
obstacle to a thaw
Ankara has rebutted a statement by the United States calling on Turkey
to take steps to normalize its relations with Armenia, citing the
Armenian Constitutional Court's previous rulings on the two countries'
diplomatic protocols.
"Turkey's position on the issue is clear," a Turkish diplomat told the
Hurriyet Daily News, adding that the Armenian court's Jan. 12 decision
established that the protocols conformed to the country's constitution.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Turkey to normalize
relations with Armenia, speaking to journalists in Yerevan on June 4,
saying "the ball is in Turkey's court."
"We are committed to seeing Armenia and Turkey normalize relations
because we think this is a better path forward for the citizens of
both countries and we strongly support ratification of the protocols
[of normalization] without preconditions," she said. "We believe these
are countries that should have open borders, should work together,
should trade, and they should have people to people exchanges because
it would be mutually beneficial to all concerned."
In the Armenian court's decision about the constitutionality of
protocols that could pave the way for diplomatic relations with Turkey,
the Armenian Constitutional Court's reference to the 1915 killings
of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire has drawn ire from
Ankara. The reference to the killings in the ruling was against the
spirit of the normalization process with Yerevan, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after the Armenian court's 2010 ruling. "We
have never taken the protocol to our Constitutional Court. We took it
directly to our Parliament, without making changes. We didn't employ a
mediator on the text. We didn't carry out any read-between-the-lines
operations. This is proof of our sincerity. Armenia has tried to
change the text," Erdogan said.
The fifth article of the court's ruling makes reference to Armenia's
declaration of independence in a manner that angered Turkey, while
the document's 11th paragraph says, "The Republic of Armenia stands
in support of the task of achieving international recognition of the
1915 genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia." The accords,
signed by the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia in October 2009,
need parliamentary approval in both countries for ratification.
Turkey and Armenia currently have no diplomatic relations, as Ankara
closed its border with the country in 1993 because of its war with
Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In 2009, the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed protocols
to establish diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border. The
protocols also called for a joint commission to examine the two
countries' shared history. Along with the Armenian court's decision,
the normalization process stalled after Turkey faced a backlash from
its traditional ally, Azerbaijan, and opposition at home.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their forebears were killed
in the events of 1915 and 1916, while Turkey says 500,000 died and
ascribes the toll to fighting and starvation during World War I.
In the meantime, Clinton yesterday called on Georgia's leaders to
strengthen their democracy by ensuring that upcoming parliamentary
and presidential elections are "free and fair," speaking at the Black
Sea port city of Batumi ahead of a meeting with President Mikheil
Saakashvili. Clinton also reaffirmed U.S. support for the territorial
integrity of the former Soviet republic, which is a strong U.S. ally.
She called on Russia to pull its forces back from Georgia's breakaway
regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Hurriyet
June 6 2012
Turkey
Turkey rejects on Hillary Clinton's calls for Ankara to normalize
ties with Armenia, noting that a ruling by an Armenian court is main
obstacle to a thaw
Ankara has rebutted a statement by the United States calling on Turkey
to take steps to normalize its relations with Armenia, citing the
Armenian Constitutional Court's previous rulings on the two countries'
diplomatic protocols.
"Turkey's position on the issue is clear," a Turkish diplomat told the
Hurriyet Daily News, adding that the Armenian court's Jan. 12 decision
established that the protocols conformed to the country's constitution.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Turkey to normalize
relations with Armenia, speaking to journalists in Yerevan on June 4,
saying "the ball is in Turkey's court."
"We are committed to seeing Armenia and Turkey normalize relations
because we think this is a better path forward for the citizens of
both countries and we strongly support ratification of the protocols
[of normalization] without preconditions," she said. "We believe these
are countries that should have open borders, should work together,
should trade, and they should have people to people exchanges because
it would be mutually beneficial to all concerned."
In the Armenian court's decision about the constitutionality of
protocols that could pave the way for diplomatic relations with Turkey,
the Armenian Constitutional Court's reference to the 1915 killings
of Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire has drawn ire from
Ankara. The reference to the killings in the ruling was against the
spirit of the normalization process with Yerevan, Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after the Armenian court's 2010 ruling. "We
have never taken the protocol to our Constitutional Court. We took it
directly to our Parliament, without making changes. We didn't employ a
mediator on the text. We didn't carry out any read-between-the-lines
operations. This is proof of our sincerity. Armenia has tried to
change the text," Erdogan said.
The fifth article of the court's ruling makes reference to Armenia's
declaration of independence in a manner that angered Turkey, while
the document's 11th paragraph says, "The Republic of Armenia stands
in support of the task of achieving international recognition of the
1915 genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia." The accords,
signed by the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia in October 2009,
need parliamentary approval in both countries for ratification.
Turkey and Armenia currently have no diplomatic relations, as Ankara
closed its border with the country in 1993 because of its war with
Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In 2009, the Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed protocols
to establish diplomatic ties and reopen their shared border. The
protocols also called for a joint commission to examine the two
countries' shared history. Along with the Armenian court's decision,
the normalization process stalled after Turkey faced a backlash from
its traditional ally, Azerbaijan, and opposition at home.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their forebears were killed
in the events of 1915 and 1916, while Turkey says 500,000 died and
ascribes the toll to fighting and starvation during World War I.
In the meantime, Clinton yesterday called on Georgia's leaders to
strengthen their democracy by ensuring that upcoming parliamentary
and presidential elections are "free and fair," speaking at the Black
Sea port city of Batumi ahead of a meeting with President Mikheil
Saakashvili. Clinton also reaffirmed U.S. support for the territorial
integrity of the former Soviet republic, which is a strong U.S. ally.
She called on Russia to pull its forces back from Georgia's breakaway
regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.