U.S. Department of State
Press Roundtable With Edward R. Murrow Journalist Exchange Participants
Daniel Fried, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs
Washington, DC
April 11, 2007

Question: I have two questions. We [Armenia] have parliamentary elections
coming in May, and I would like to know if there is [inaudible] how it will
impact our relations with U.S.
And the second question is that Ankara actually blackmailed the United
States, saying it will block the supply channel for the American troops in
Iraq [inaudible] resolution or the Armenian Genocide [inaudible] from the
congress agenda. I wonder can you consider Turkey to be a good ally if they
blackmail to suppress freedom of opinion and action in the U.S.? Thank you
very much.
Assistant Secretary Fried: The Turkish Government has never blackmailed or
threatened the U.S. Government. They have never said that they will take
retaliatory steps if this resolution passes.
The Turkish government has said that Turkish opinion would be inflamed and
outraged by this resolution and that they, the Turkish government, fear what
the Turkish parliament might do in reaction to something our parliament
might do. So it’s a little bit different than what you described.
Turkey is a good ally. It is also a country which is undergoing a profound
democratic transformation itself. Turkey has for decades had the formal
elements of democracy, but in the last 10, 15, 20 years it has deepened this
democracy, and especially in the last 5 to 10 years. The boundaries of
freedom of expression are now much greater than they were before. Civilian
institutions are much stronger. The role of the military is much more
circumscribed. These things are advancing, and as this happens there is a
growing discussion in Turkey about their own past, and in particular the
past of the Ottoman Empire and its relationship to the Armenian community
there and the mass killings that took place in 1915 and afterwards. Turks
are beginning to discuss this.
We encourage them to examine their history and the painful, what can be
called dark spots, and they’re not the only country that has them. The
United States has plenty of our own: slavery, treatment of American Indians,
treatment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. We have a lot of things
in our history of which we’re not proud.
We think that Turkey and Armenia need to discuss their shared past in a
serious way. This needs to be a discussion that historians have. The United
States doesn’t deny any of the killings. They’re an established historical
fact, but historians need to discuss the details of what happened, why it
happened, who did what. This needs to happen, and it needs to happen as a
process of genuine national reconciliation.
We also think that Turkey ought to open up the border with Armenia and
restore normal relations. We’re pleased by recent steps Turkey has taken,
like restoring the Armenian church in Eastern Turkey, even if as a museum.
That’s still something. And there is in Turkish society a constituency for
this kind of reconciliation. Hrant Dink was murdered by an extremist
nationalist, but then 100,000 Turks were in the street saying we are all
Armenians, we are all Hrant Dink. It didn’t mean literally that they’re
Armenians, but it means we reject nationalism. We embrace a Turkish identity
which is tolerant. That’s very hopeful. That’s a very good thing. That’s
what we want to encourage.
You keep asking complicated questions. I can’t answer in a sound byte, but
I’ll try.
Question: What about the first one? Parliamentary elections –
Assistant Secretary Fried: Look, we want to see an improvement in the
Armenian parliamentary elections. That is important. We don’t expect
perfection. We don’t expect to go from deeply flawed to perfect, but we do
expect to see substantial forward progress. That is important.
Armenia, given the strength of the Armenian Diaspora and given Armenia’s
links to the West, frankly, you ought to be way ahead of Georgia. But I ask
you, are you in terms of democratic reforms? That’s a rhetorical question.
I’m not asking for an answer. But think about that.
Armenia should be doing better. It should be a leader. It should be a
prospering country. It has all the ingredients. And lack of oil and gas is
not necessarily a curse.
Question: What about closing borders?
Assistant Secretary Fried: Yes, but a lot of countries – Armenia is not
blockaded. It has access through Georgia. It’s not as if it has no access to
the outside world. We hope that more is done.
Question: I would like to ask a question about Azerbaijan and its continuous
advice against [inaudible]. Also the fact that 20 percent of Azerbaijan
territory is occupied by Armenia.
Assistant Secretary Fried: I’ll try to make these answers shorter. We could
talk all day about Nagorno-Karabakh. It is important to try to find a
peaceful settlement. War will destroy everything Azerbaijan is trying to do.
We have been working very actively with France and Russia to help broker a
settlement. We’ve made some progress, and we hope we can succeed this year.
Azerbaijan has made some progress in democracy, but it needs to make much
more. It has a leadership which is poised to take the country into a much
more prosperous, democratic future, and I hope that it does.
A strong country has a strong free press and a strong opposition as well as
strong central institutions, and Azerbaijan has every opportunity, like
Armenia, although the economies are very different, to have a very good 21st
Century.