Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Sept 6 2008

Turkish FM says Armenia trip opens door

A historic visit by Turkish President Abdullah G?Ã?¼l to long-time foe
Armenia on Saturday could open the door to restoring diplomatic
relations, Turkey’s foreign minister said.

"My president’s visit to Yerevan … is going to be an important step
to open doors for dialogue with Armenia," Ali Babacan told Reuters.

Last month’s war between Russia and Georgia had dislodged a series of
frozen conflicts in the Caucasus, raising risks of further instability
but also creating opportunities for new diplomatic efforts to resolve
them, he said.

"The current circumstances, we believe, are conducive for such a bold
step," Babacan said in an interview late on Friday night in Avignon,
France, where he was attending a meeting of European Union foreign
ministers.

G?Ã?¼l seized the opportunity of a World Cup soccer qualifying match in
Yerevan to break a diplomatic deadlock that has endured since the
early 1990s and try to overcome an enmity going back nearly 100 years.

Ankara severed ties and closed its border with the former Soviet
republic after Armenia occupied part of neighbouring Azerbaijan in the
conflict over the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Now is the time to talk about the problems openly, boldly and to try
to find solutions," said Babacan, who left the EU meeting early to
accompany the president to Yerevan.

"We don’t have diplomatic relations right now with Armenia. What are
we going to do about that? That’s another issue for discussion."

Asked whether a restoration of ties could be an outcome of the visit,
he said: "I don’t want to raise expectations that much. We have to see
how (Saturday’s) meeting goes. We are ready for more dialogue. This
all has to be discussed."

HISTORIANS’ COMMISSION

Reopening the border with Armenia, a major barrier to the landlocked
Caucasus state’s economic development, may take longer, Babacan
indicated, noting that the closure was linked to the Armenian military
presence in Azerbaijan.

He noted that the two countries already did $500 million in annual
trade due to charter flights and exports via Georgia.

Turkey was ready to talk about all issues, he said, including a
profound dispute over the mass killings of Armenians in 1915 in
Ottoman Turkey.

Turkey vehemently denies genocide, disputing both the scale of the
killings and their systematic nature. It says they were part of a
series of massacres and population movements in the collapse of the
Ottoman empire.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdo?Ä?an has proposed establishing a
commission of historians from both Turkey and Armenia and mutually
agreed third countries to examine the archives and seek an agreed
version of events.

Asked whether he expected an agreement on such a commission during
G?Ã?¼l’s visit, Babacan said: " I don’t think we should raise
expectations so high. But when we open a dialogue, it means we are
starting talking about the problems. Of course the events of 1915 are
a very important agenda item for us." Babacan acknowledged fierce
opposition among Turkish and Armenian nationalists to any
rapprochement between the two countries, but he said they had yet to
understand that times had changed in the Caucasus and it was time to
discuss all issues.

EU enlargement chief Olli Rehn commended G?Ã?¼l’s initiative in going to
Yerevan and praised Turkey’s energetic diplomacy to help solve frozen
conflicts in the Caucasus.

"I certainly hope that this will pave the way for a breakthrough in
Turkey-Armenian relations and return to normal diplomatic relations,
to the opening of the border and dealing with sensitive historical
issues," Rehn said.

If Turkey plays as well as they did in the European (soccer)
championship, they should cause a diplomatic incident in Yerevan, he
joked.

06 September 2008, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES ?Ä?°STANBUL