VARTAN OSKANYAN: TURKEY’S PRECONDITIONS DO NOT STAND CRITICISM

Panorama.am
16:50 19/12/2007

The Armenian-Turkish relations are complex and Armenia must consolidate
the burden of the past with the requirement of the present to live
in a stable and peaceful region, Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan
Oskanyan told a parliamentary hearing on the Armenian-Turkish relations
today. He also said the issues of the past may be tackled in case of
normal diplomatic relations and open borders. However, Turkey wants
to tackle the issues of the past first and after that it is ready to
lift the border. In the presentation of the Armenian foreign minister,
even in Europe there are countries that have problems with each other
but they do not try to solve them by shutting down the borders and
by putting preconditions.

He divided the Armenian-Turkish relations into several stages. In
the first phase (1991-93) the Armenian-Turkish border was open
but Turkey refused to enter into diplomatic relations with Armenia
demanding recognition of Turkey’s frontiers and refusal from the
Armenian genocide.

One must recall that during those years and until 1998, Armenia did
not make the issue of genocide as part of its foreign policy agenda.

In the second phase (1993-98) when the Armenian forces occupied
territories in Karabakh war, Turkey closed its border with Armenia and
proposed a third demand – to free the mentioned territories. In the
third phase that covers the period of 1998-2007, the mentioned three
preconditions remained valid and strengthened even more since the
issue of genocide has appeared in the foreign policy agenda of Armenia.

In the words of the foreign minister, none of the three preconditions
stand any criticism from the "international point of view." In
Oskanyan’s words, Turkey is not a party of Nagorno Karabakh conflict
and cannot put preconditions. Second, Kars and Moscow agreements
of 1921 are still effective where the borders of our countries
are outlined and Turkey’s demand to recognize its borders are
groundless. As far as the recognition of the genocide is concerned,
the recognition of the genocide by the parliaments of other countries
is their internal affair and Armenia does not interfere, the minister
said.