Armenia, Turkey are “very close” to normalizing ties

Armenia will not pay a price for the opening of borders and the establishment of diplomatic relations, Nalbandian says

by Tatul Hakobyan

Published: Saturday January 24, 2009

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

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Turkey's Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said in a television interview last Friday that normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey and Armenia and Azerbaijan was no longer "a dream."

"I can easily say we have never come this close to a plan regarding the final normalization of relations with Armenia," he added.

His Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian on January 21 announced that the two countries can "very quickly normalize relations." He went on to say, "We are very close to normalizing relations and we can take the next step and solve all the other issues when Turkey displays the same approach as Armenia - normalizing relations and opening the border without preconditions."

Asked by the Armenian Reporter what price, if any, Armenia is prepared to pay for Armenian-Turkish relations to develop, Mr. Nalbandian answered: "Why should we pay a price? Turkey is not doing us any favors by opening the border, or normalizing relations; it is no less important for Turkey. What price are we talking about?"

Mr. Nalbandian was asked by the Armenian Reporter about talk that the Armenian government is open to an Armenian-Turkish commission that discusses not whether the events of 1915-17 constituted genocide but rather how to do away with the consequences.

He said: "We have said many times that we must turn that bitter page, not by forgetting it, but by recognizing it. Armenia has never said and will never say to our diasporan structures or to a foreign country to stop the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Something like that will never happen.

"Secondly, we have said that after the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of the border, we are ready to create an intergovernmental commission that can have different areas of focus, groups, subcommittees, through which we can discuss all the issues that concern our two neighboring countries. But there must not be any suspicion that Armenia, at any time, will place the Armenian Genocide in question."

Turkey's foreign minister has warned Barack Obama's administration that any U.S. recognition of Armenian massacres by Ottoman Turkey as genocide could derail reconciliation efforts between the two neighbors. "It would not be very rational for a third country to take a position on this issue... A wrong step by the United States will harm the process," Mr. Babacan wrote.

Mr. Nalbandian, touching upon his counterpart's letter, said, "If there is the desire to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations, then nothing can prevent it from happening."

Turkey's Caucasus Platform proposal to get a hearing

On January 26 there will be a meeting of high-level diplomats from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and Russia.

Immediately following the five-day Georgian-Russian war in August, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey suggested the creation of a new undertaking called the Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform. The first meeting will take place with the participation of deputy foreign ministers. The General Secretary of Armenia's Foreign Ministry, Shahen Avagyan, will be representing Armenia at that meeting.?f