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ARMENIA TAKES A STEP BACK FROM NORMALIZATION WITH TURKEY
Daily Sabah, Turkey
Feb 16 2015
DAILY SABAH WITH AGENCIES
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said on Monday he withdrew from
parliament landmark peace accords with Turkey, setting further
back U.S.-backed efforts to bury a century of hostility between
the neighbors.
The two countries signed accords in October 2009 to establish
diplomatic relations and open their land border, trying to overcome
the legacy of the events of 1915 and later events that led to the
death of thousands on both sides.
The process had been deadlocked as both Ankara and Yerevan have
accused the other of trying to rewrite the texts and setting new
conditions. Many Armenians want Turkey to recognize the 1915 events
as genocide and pay reparations, proposals Ankara balks at.
Neither parliament has approved the deal, which would bring huge
economic gains for poor, landlocked Armenia, burnish Turkey's
credentials as an EU candidate and boost its clout in the strategic
South Caucasus.
"We were ready for a fully-fledged settlement in our relations
with Turkey by ratifying these protocols, but we were also ready
for failure," Sargsyan said in a letter that had been sent to the
parliament, his press service said.
He blamed Turkey for "absence of the political will" in finding
solution.
"We have nothing to hide and it should be clear for the international
community whose fault it was that the last closed European border
was not open," he said.
Turkish-Armenian border had been closed since 1993 due to the conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. The autonomous
region and some adjacent territory, which comprises a quarter of
Azerbaijan's land, have been under the control of Armenian soldiers
and local Armenian forces since a 1994 cease-fire that ended a
six-year war.
Turkey, an ally of Turkic nation of Azerbaijan, had always stated that
the normalization of relations with Armenia depends on a solution
between two Caucasus states. The Turkish foreign minister recently
urged Armenia to pull out its forces from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Following the brief war of 2008 between Russia and Georgia and its
aftermath, Turkey and Armenia were urged by both domestic factors and
international community to start an initiative to normalize their
relations. The war threatened energy supply from oil-rich Caspian
region, while it further increased Armenia's isolation and poverty
as its only route through world markets, passing through Georgia, was
blocked by Russia. Meanwhile, Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's
murder in 2007 shocked Turkish society and it largely transformed the
public opinion regaring the bitter past with their Armenian neighbors.
As Turkey and Armenia paired in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers,
presidents of both countries exchanged visits for the game, paving
the way for the accords of 2009.
Armenia, a country of 3.2 million, is approaching the 100th-anniversary
of the 1915 events, when tens of thousands lay flowers at a hilltop
monument in the capital on April 24th.
U.S. President Barack Obama will issue a statement to mark the
anniversary of the events, a defining element of Armenian national
identity and thorn in the side of Turkey.
http://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2015/02/16/armenia-takes-a-step-back-from-normalization-with-turkey
From: A. Papazian
Daily Sabah, Turkey
Feb 16 2015
DAILY SABAH WITH AGENCIES
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said on Monday he withdrew from
parliament landmark peace accords with Turkey, setting further
back U.S.-backed efforts to bury a century of hostility between
the neighbors.
The two countries signed accords in October 2009 to establish
diplomatic relations and open their land border, trying to overcome
the legacy of the events of 1915 and later events that led to the
death of thousands on both sides.
The process had been deadlocked as both Ankara and Yerevan have
accused the other of trying to rewrite the texts and setting new
conditions. Many Armenians want Turkey to recognize the 1915 events
as genocide and pay reparations, proposals Ankara balks at.
Neither parliament has approved the deal, which would bring huge
economic gains for poor, landlocked Armenia, burnish Turkey's
credentials as an EU candidate and boost its clout in the strategic
South Caucasus.
"We were ready for a fully-fledged settlement in our relations
with Turkey by ratifying these protocols, but we were also ready
for failure," Sargsyan said in a letter that had been sent to the
parliament, his press service said.
He blamed Turkey for "absence of the political will" in finding
solution.
"We have nothing to hide and it should be clear for the international
community whose fault it was that the last closed European border
was not open," he said.
Turkish-Armenian border had been closed since 1993 due to the conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. The autonomous
region and some adjacent territory, which comprises a quarter of
Azerbaijan's land, have been under the control of Armenian soldiers
and local Armenian forces since a 1994 cease-fire that ended a
six-year war.
Turkey, an ally of Turkic nation of Azerbaijan, had always stated that
the normalization of relations with Armenia depends on a solution
between two Caucasus states. The Turkish foreign minister recently
urged Armenia to pull out its forces from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Following the brief war of 2008 between Russia and Georgia and its
aftermath, Turkey and Armenia were urged by both domestic factors and
international community to start an initiative to normalize their
relations. The war threatened energy supply from oil-rich Caspian
region, while it further increased Armenia's isolation and poverty
as its only route through world markets, passing through Georgia, was
blocked by Russia. Meanwhile, Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink's
murder in 2007 shocked Turkish society and it largely transformed the
public opinion regaring the bitter past with their Armenian neighbors.
As Turkey and Armenia paired in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers,
presidents of both countries exchanged visits for the game, paving
the way for the accords of 2009.
Armenia, a country of 3.2 million, is approaching the 100th-anniversary
of the 1915 events, when tens of thousands lay flowers at a hilltop
monument in the capital on April 24th.
U.S. President Barack Obama will issue a statement to mark the
anniversary of the events, a defining element of Armenian national
identity and thorn in the side of Turkey.
http://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2015/02/16/armenia-takes-a-step-back-from-normalization-with-turkey
From: A. Papazian