Armenian Reporter:

Armenia is still "hopeful" that Turkey will not retreat on talks

Foreign minister responds to U.S. claim about history commission

Published: Monday June 22, 2009

Edward Nalbandian Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan

Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian at a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan of the United Arab Emirates, Yerevan, Sunday, June 21, 2009. MFA

"We are ready to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions and are hopeful that Turkey too will take that path. As for retreat on Turkey's part, I can only express hope that Turkey will not retreat," Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said in response to a question posed by the Armenian Reporter in a joint news conference with Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahayan of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday, June 21, in Yerevan.

The Armenian side has not lost its public optimism even after a senior European diplomat acknowledged that Turkey had stopped talking to Armenia.

"Intolerant announcements"

Turkey has taken a "tactical step backwards" on normalizing relations with Armenia because of hostile domestic reaction to the move, the European Union's envoy to the region said in an interview last week with Reuters.

"A step back was taken by the Turkish side . . . but this is not a U-turn," said EU South Caucasus envoy Peter Semneby. "We expect the conversations will continue."

In contrast to high-level officials in Yerevan, who speak with one voice on relations with Turkey, high officials in Ankara contradict each other. Thus, if President Abdullah Gül is very polite and proper when referring to Armenia and Armenians, then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes coarse and insulting remarks once a month or more often. Mr. Erdogan has announced that Turkey would not open the border with Armenia as long as "Armenian occupation of Azeri territory continues."

"Problems are not resolved by making intolerant announcements," Mr. Nalbandian said. "If there's a desire to resolve issues through diplomacy, then it is possible to do that through negotiations, through agreements reached in those negotiations, and through the implementation of those agreements. I think we have that possibility in the matter of the normalization of Armenia-Turkey relations, and Armenia will continue its efforts in that direction."

A peek at the roadmap

On April 22, the foreign ministries of Armenia and Turkey announced that they had "agreed on a comprehensive framework for the normalization of their bilateral relations in a mutually satisfactory manner." They said they had "identified" a "road-map" to this end.

On June 16, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon appeared to reveal a key element of the hitherto secret "road-map." He told the Europe Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the agreed-upon framework "would provide commissions in key areas including history."

Asked by the Armenian Reporter about these proposed commissions, Armenia's foreign minister said, "It has been said repeatedly that in the context of the establishment of Armenian-Turkish relations, we intend to follow that path, in order to normalize those relations, establish diplomatic relations, open the borders. Relations do not develop just like that. To develop relations, we intend to establish an intergovernmental commission, which will address numerous issues that concern the two sides."

Armenia's foreign minister thus spoke of an intergovernmental commission to discuss a range of issues, rather than a commission of historians to review the events of 1915.

"A means to protract the question for years"

In an April 2005 letter to the president of Armenia, Mr. Erdogan had proposed establishing "a joint group consisting of historians and other experts from our two countries to study the developments and events of 1915."

The president at the time, Robert Kocharian, had rejected the establishment of historians' commission. He had written in response, "It is the responsibility of governments to develop bilateral relations and we do not have the right to delegate that responsibility to historians. That is why we have proposed and propose again that, without pre-conditions, we establish normal relations between our two countries. In that context, an intergovernmental commission can meet to discuss any and all outstanding issues between our two nations, with the aim of resolving them and coming to an understanding."

A year ago, on June 23, 2008, Armenia's current president, Serge Sargsian, appeared to signal a change of policy. Referring to Mr. Erdogan's proposal, he said, "We are not opposed to establishing such a commission, but only when the border between our countries is opened. Otherwise, it could be a means to protract the question for years and take advantage of it."

But in the days and weeks that followed, Yerevan denied any change in policy.

"No need" for a historians' commission

In response to questions last summer from the Armenian Reporter, Mr.Nalbandian and the president's spokesperson each stated that there had not been any change in policy. In a Wall Street Journal commentary published July 9, 2008, Mr. Sargsian pointedly reverted to the wording used by Mr. Kocharian in 2005. He was in favor of "a commission to comprehensively discuss all of the complex issues affecting Armenia and Turkey."

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