Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
May 14 2005
Armenia Hopeful for Opening of Turkish Border, but Gives No Sign
Prime Minister of Armenia Andranik Margaryan on Friday expressed his
hope that the Turkish-Armenian border will be opened by the end of
the year.
Speaking at a press conference in Yerevan, Margaryan described the
current situation between Turkey and Armenia as `the most suitable
period to open the border between the two countries.’ `Everything
should be done to establish diplomatic relations and open the border
between Turkey and Armenia by the end of the year,’ he said.
EU is more pessimistic
The European Union, on the other hand, doesn’t share the Armenian
prime minister’s optimism over the potential opening of their border
with Turkey.
EU special representative for the SouthCaucasus Heikki Talvitie said
he doesn’t expect the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border unless
progress is first made to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. 20
percent of Azerbaijan is under Armenian occupation. Armenia does not
recognise Turkey’s, georgia’s and Azerbaijan’s borders.
Talvitie said that he’s seen some progress in the Armenian
government’s policies, during a press conference in Baku, Azerbaijan
on Friday.
On a recent statement by Armenian Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian
about the need `to give some concessions on the Armenian side,’
Talvitie said, `The Armenian defense minister’s statement means that
Armenia may return some of the occupied territories to Azerbaijan. I
think that this is the first reference made by the Armenians about
giving back some territories,’ Talvitie said.
He went on to say that the EU welcomes the upcoming meeting of the
Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents in Warsaw next week at a summit
meeting of the Council of Europe.
The Armenian authorities have sent the first signals to Ankara
regarding a withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh, which is one of the
precondition for the start of talks and normal diplomatic relations
between Armenia and Turkey.
The latest information on the Armenian move was conveyed to Ankara
earlier this week by Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov
during a short visit to Turkey. Speaking of his meeting with the
Armenian authorities, Azimov explained the formula under which the
Armenian withdrawal from seven regions of Nagorno-Karabakh would take
place.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Armenian President
Robert Kocharian also are expected to meet in Warsaw. Turkish PM had
called the Armenian side to establish a joint commission to discuss
historical disputes, yet Armenia rejected the offer. Armenia supports
a great international campaign to force Turkey to accept Armenian
allegations. Ankara says Yerevan’s anti-Turkish efforts undermine a
possible friendship in the region.