Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

ISTANBUL: Hopes Dim For Normalization Of Turkish-Armenian Relations

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • ISTANBUL: Hopes Dim For Normalization Of Turkish-Armenian Relations

    HOPES DIM FOR NORMALIZATION OF TURKISH-ARMENIAN RELATIONS

    Today's Zaman
    http://www.todayszaman.com/news-279592-hopes-dim-for-normalization-of-turkish-armenian-relations.html
    May 7 2012
    Turkey

    As Armenians headed to the polls on Sunday, expectations were low
    that new life would be breathed into an unratified deal signed by the
    foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia in 2009 to normalize relations.

    Armenian officials and politicians accuse Turkey of holding the
    ratification process hostage through its insistence that Armenia must
    first agree to a solution to the long-standing Nagorno-Karabakh issue
    as a precondition for normalization.

    Armenian Parliament head Samvel Nikoyan, who spoke to Turkish
    reporters who came to Armenia as part of the program sponsored by
    the Hrant Dink Foundation and the Heinrich Böll Stiftung Association
    accused Turkey's policy of threatening the process, remarking: "We are
    seeing that any kind of provision, especially the precondition of the
    Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, as devastating the process of talks. To
    move talks forward ... it's necessary that we vote on the protocols
    without preconditions."

    Galust Sahakyan, leader of the Republican Party of Armenia
    parliamentary faction, meanwhile, indicated that Armenian leaders had
    their own red lines that will take priority over the reconciliation
    pact, stating to the press, "For us, the Karabakh problem and the
    genocide issue are more important than a restart in relations with
    Turkey."

    Nonetheless, Sahakyan said he thinks of Turkey as the key to solving
    the region's most pressing problems, saying of the protocol's future:
    "We aren't going to take any steps back. But if Turkey announces
    that it is withdrawing officially from the protocol, we will also do
    what's necessary."

    Armenia's third-largest expected winner at this year's election,
    the Heritage Party, meanwhile, indicated that it was against the
    protocol, with party leader Raffi Hovannisian stating that it was
    necessary to restart the talks without preconditions. "If Turkey
    insists on preconditions, the Armenian side will have to develop a
    symmetric response."

    Nikoyan, commenting on the deadlock before the elections, said the
    disagreements still do not constitute a major rift between the two
    countries. "In a situation in which there are no official diplomatic
    relations and the border is closed, our communications are strong. At
    this moment commerce isn't being supported, but we know there's the
    potential for [re-establishing] trade. There are Turkish businessmen
    in Armenia, and Armenian businessmen in Turkey."

    Richard Giragosian of the Regional Studies Center also said the rift
    was less formidable than portrayed, noting, "I am optimistic about
    Armenian-Turkish normalization."

    Indicating that significant pressure exists to re-establish relations
    before the 100th anniversary of the Armenian massacres in 2015,
    Giragosian said, "It's possible that some of the unofficial diplomatic
    ties will be made more official." Giragosian believes that the Turkish
    Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia, could be accredited by Yerevan or that
    relations could be formally established through the Swiss Embassy
    there. He also suggested that certain border gates could be opened.

    Such measures are not without cost, however, and Giragosian warns
    that they could meet heavy opposition in Azerbaijan.

    Eurasia Partnership Foundation Country Director Gevorg Ter-Gabrielyan,
    meanwhile, speculated that the prospective relations change would
    be tied to changes in Armenia's government. "The elections can in
    the medium run create new chances if the government changes and new
    and more energetic people come to power who are ready to engage more
    vocally in international organizations and thus induce Turkey to take
    some steps with regard to confidence-building measures," he stated.

    "I think the Turkish governments' statements are sometimes too
    emotional, just like the Armenians, and more calm pragmatism is needed
    on both sides," he added.

    Turkish-Armenian relations also appear imperiled by Armenia's continued
    appeal to territorial rights over territories possessed by Turkey. In
    the elections run-up, Nikoyan stated that for Armenia Mount Ararat
    must remain as one of the state's symbols. Calls for recognition
    of the 1915 killings of Armenians as genocide also remain high on
    politicians' priorities.

    The coming 100th anniversary of that event is also likely to upset
    relations between the two countries, with analysts predicting that
    2015 will see major demonstrations, especially among Turkey's minority
    Armenian community.

    Russia-Turkey balance

    Turkey and Armenia's renewed push to negotiate an opening of the
    border gates between the two countries might also be viewed in
    the framework of the latter's close ties to Russia. According to
    Giragosian, Armenia remains "tied to a fundamental degree to Russia."

    An Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)
    official, who asked not to be named, said Armenia should strive to be
    "small and transparent" in the future. "In foreign policy, they're
    going to try to develop close relations with the EU and the West."

    Ter-Gabrielyan agreed. "In the times to come, Russian interest is
    going to diminish even further because Armenia is getting closer and
    closer to Europe," he commented.

    Commenting on the possibility of starting Turkish-Armenian
    normalization process, Salpi Ghazarian, director of The Civilitas
    Foundation, based in Yerevan said "I dont know if it will. Because
    it is in Turkey's hand"


    From: Baghdasarian
Working...
X