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U.S. Takes To Rear Of Artsakh Status Quo
Hakob Badalyan, Political Commentator
Comments - 20 September 2014, 13:06
The nominee for the next U.S. ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills
announced at the Senate Committee hearing that "efforts toward
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation are especially important at this time,
as the United States and the world will stand in solidarity with the
Armenian people next year to mark the centenary of one of the 20th
century's worst atrocities," he stated.
It is not clear what "standing in solidarity with the Armenian people"
means. This statement seems to have a moral meaning rather because,
mildly speaking, there is little probability that the centenary will
accelerate the process of international recognition of the Armenian
genocide. The world did not begin with the Armenian genocide and will
not end with its centenary, and a jubilee is not an important enough
factor for a recognition with a paramount geopolitical importance.
Standing in solidarity with the Armenian people will have a political
importance, however, because not only recognition will ensure such
importance.
In this respect, it is interesting that the nominee for the next U.S.
ambassador to Turkey John Bass spoke about efforts towards
Armenian-Turkish normalization. The statements of the next ambassadors
(one of them is still formally a candidate) demonstrate that the
Armenian-Turkish topic will be primary for the United States. The
100th anniversary may have a big importance but the core issue is
other than that. The United States sees the necessity to control the
process of the Armenian-Turkish normalization. And it is logical
because control over the process is important at least for the
strength of positions in the process of settlement of the Artsakh
conflict.
The United States is obviously vibrant in the process relating to
Artsakh and is speaking about the change of level of the format of
talks. There are no details yet but it is beyond doubt that the United
States is trying to prevent Russia's single-handed control over the
process.
To resolve this problem it is necessary to keep the Armenian-Turkish
aspect under control, especially with the recent nature of the
Russian-Turkish relations. Although there is a huge difference between
the strategic interests of Russia and Turkey, currently they have a
lot in common in terms of tactics and a close cooperation based on
that. And the Armenian-Turkish relations are the rear of the Artsakh
process, consequently the rear must be secured to secure the positions
in the process.
Having set out to prevent a shift of status quo upon the
Russian-Turkish-Azerbaijani agreement the United States did think
about the rear of the process, control over the Armenian-Turkish
process, having the experience of the football democracy and the new
invitation of the Armenian government to Erdogan.
The Armenian-Turkish football diplomacy started in Russia, in the same
period the Russian foreign minister Lavrov announced that compromise
over the Artsakh issue would enable progress towards opening the
Armenian-Turkish border. For his part, Serzh Sargsyan suggests that
Turkey "assist" in the settlement of the Artsakh issue. This dangerous
process was prevented through the interference of the West which
enabled reducing the football democracy to the level of protocols on
the shelf covered with dust.
And now, as G7 boycott the inauguration of Erdogan, the Armenian
foreign minister attends it and hands to him an invitation to visit
Armenia on April 24. In other words, a new risk of football diplomacy
occurs that may cause problems for Artsakh, as well as regional
stability. After all, the first Armenian-Turkish football diplomacy
followed the Russian-Georgian five-day war.
Being mindful of this and in order to keep the Caucasus from
destabilization on the eve of the new Armenian-Turkish initiative the
United States will try to take preventive steps in the
Armenian-Turkish dimension.
There is an opinion that the Armenian-Turkish normalization is one of
the keys to regional security and development. In fact, the
Armenian-Turkish normalization without preconditions is possible with
new international guarantees of regional stability and development,
shifting the region to a new comprehensive level of involvement in the
global security system.
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/33001#sthash.QgIKsHFI.dpuf
From: A. Papazian
Hakob Badalyan, Political Commentator
Comments - 20 September 2014, 13:06
The nominee for the next U.S. ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills
announced at the Senate Committee hearing that "efforts toward
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation are especially important at this time,
as the United States and the world will stand in solidarity with the
Armenian people next year to mark the centenary of one of the 20th
century's worst atrocities," he stated.
It is not clear what "standing in solidarity with the Armenian people"
means. This statement seems to have a moral meaning rather because,
mildly speaking, there is little probability that the centenary will
accelerate the process of international recognition of the Armenian
genocide. The world did not begin with the Armenian genocide and will
not end with its centenary, and a jubilee is not an important enough
factor for a recognition with a paramount geopolitical importance.
Standing in solidarity with the Armenian people will have a political
importance, however, because not only recognition will ensure such
importance.
In this respect, it is interesting that the nominee for the next U.S.
ambassador to Turkey John Bass spoke about efforts towards
Armenian-Turkish normalization. The statements of the next ambassadors
(one of them is still formally a candidate) demonstrate that the
Armenian-Turkish topic will be primary for the United States. The
100th anniversary may have a big importance but the core issue is
other than that. The United States sees the necessity to control the
process of the Armenian-Turkish normalization. And it is logical
because control over the process is important at least for the
strength of positions in the process of settlement of the Artsakh
conflict.
The United States is obviously vibrant in the process relating to
Artsakh and is speaking about the change of level of the format of
talks. There are no details yet but it is beyond doubt that the United
States is trying to prevent Russia's single-handed control over the
process.
To resolve this problem it is necessary to keep the Armenian-Turkish
aspect under control, especially with the recent nature of the
Russian-Turkish relations. Although there is a huge difference between
the strategic interests of Russia and Turkey, currently they have a
lot in common in terms of tactics and a close cooperation based on
that. And the Armenian-Turkish relations are the rear of the Artsakh
process, consequently the rear must be secured to secure the positions
in the process.
Having set out to prevent a shift of status quo upon the
Russian-Turkish-Azerbaijani agreement the United States did think
about the rear of the process, control over the Armenian-Turkish
process, having the experience of the football democracy and the new
invitation of the Armenian government to Erdogan.
The Armenian-Turkish football diplomacy started in Russia, in the same
period the Russian foreign minister Lavrov announced that compromise
over the Artsakh issue would enable progress towards opening the
Armenian-Turkish border. For his part, Serzh Sargsyan suggests that
Turkey "assist" in the settlement of the Artsakh issue. This dangerous
process was prevented through the interference of the West which
enabled reducing the football democracy to the level of protocols on
the shelf covered with dust.
And now, as G7 boycott the inauguration of Erdogan, the Armenian
foreign minister attends it and hands to him an invitation to visit
Armenia on April 24. In other words, a new risk of football diplomacy
occurs that may cause problems for Artsakh, as well as regional
stability. After all, the first Armenian-Turkish football diplomacy
followed the Russian-Georgian five-day war.
Being mindful of this and in order to keep the Caucasus from
destabilization on the eve of the new Armenian-Turkish initiative the
United States will try to take preventive steps in the
Armenian-Turkish dimension.
There is an opinion that the Armenian-Turkish normalization is one of
the keys to regional security and development. In fact, the
Armenian-Turkish normalization without preconditions is possible with
new international guarantees of regional stability and development,
shifting the region to a new comprehensive level of involvement in the
global security system.
http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/comments/view/33001#sthash.QgIKsHFI.dpuf
From: A. Papazian