Views vary on prospects for Armenia-Turkey diplomatic relations

Armenia is not negotiating with Turkey for the sake of negotiations, Nalbandian says

by Tatul Hakobyan

Published: Wednesday December 10, 2008

Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian of Armenia, r., with his Turkish counterpart, Ali Babacan, in Helsinki, Dec. 4, 2008.

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Helsinki, Finland - While talking to Armenian journalists in Helsinki, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza announced that despite the existence of some differences of opinion, Armenia and Turkey are close to signing an agreement on the establishment of diplomatic relations. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried was more reserved in his words. He said, "We have always supported the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations. We do so now."

On December 4, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey met for the fourth time since the six-hour visit of Turkish president Abdullah Gül to Yerevan on September 6. The meeting, in Helsinki, was in conjunction with the annual meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council. Tigran Balayan, spokesperson for Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the topic of negotiation remains the search for finding a way of normalizing Armenian and Turkish relations.

During his speech at the OSCE Ministers Council, Armenia's foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian, spoke at length about Armenian-Turkish relations. He said:

"There is one more long-standing problem which needs a wise approach and political courage to be resolved." The normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations will contribute greatly to the establishment of stability and security in the whole region, Mr. Nalbandian said. "The bold steps taken by the presidents of Armenia and Turkey demonstrate political will and a readiness to move forward. Of course, no one expects miracles, and we were pragmatic enough not to think that all problems would be solved overnight. However, the important thing is to achieve a tangible result and not to negotiate for the sake of negotiations. We are looking for establishment of diplomatic relations and opening of borders without any precondition, and we expect the same approach from the Turkish side. Parties continue to work and negotiate, and I hope that together we will achieve what I believe is our common goal: to normalize our relations and bring security and stability to our region."

Mr. Nalbanidian made no mention of the Armenian Genocide and did not bring up the fact that Turkey has closed the border it shares with Armenia.

The foreign ministers of several countries referred to the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations during their speeches in Helsinki. However, Ali Babacan, Turkey's foreign minister, did not utter even a single word about the topic. Instead he referred to the Karabakh conflict; that is the pretext under which Turkey closed the border in April 1993 and to date refuses to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia.

"Turkey continues to contribute to the peace process through its multiple and mutually complementary initiatives. Respect for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan must constitute the bedrock of any settlement," said Mr. Babacan in his address.

German Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in his speech touched upon the Yerevan-Ankara thaw, saying "the steps Turkey and Armenia have taken towards each other deserve our full support."

In Istanbul on November 24, Mr. Nalbandian said that he expected normalization of relations with Turkey "very soon." It "could be done in a quick way, because I do not see any major obstacles," said the Armenian foreign minister. Armenia holds the rotating presidency of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) organization, and it was in this capacity that Mr. Nalbandian was in Istanbul. Following the BSEC meeting, Mr. Nalbandian met his Turkish counterpart.

Earlier Mr. Nalbandian and Mr. Babacan met in Yerevan the same day Mr. Gül was in Yerevan and then again late in September in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Quoting Mr. Babacan, the Turkish media informed the public that a tripartite meeting was envisaged in Helsinki between the foreign affairs ministers of Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbijan, similar to that which had taken place at the end of September in New York, as well as a meeting between the five (Turkey, Russian, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan) Caucasian stability and cooperation platform foreign affairs ministers.

However, those meetings did not take place and as Tigran Balayan announced, negotiations within that format had not been envisaged.