World Markets Research Centre
Global Insight
September 12, 2008

Swiss, Turkish Foreign Ministers Sign MoU in Wake of Turkish-Armenian
Rapprochement

by Grace Annan

Yesterday, Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey and her Turkish
counterpart Ali Babacan ratified an addition to the Turkish-Swiss
Memorandum of understanding (MoU) of 2001. The addition calls for
regular meetings on the economy, environment, energy, migration,
tourism and terrorism. Calmy-Rey welcomed the restart of talks on
economic matters in particular. Swiss President Pascal Couchepin is
visiting Turkey in November to celebrate the 80th anniversary of
diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Significance:The Turkish government is trying to enhance its profile
as important mediator and force on the international stage. European
governments have recognised the potential of Turkey to help resolve a
number of frozen conflicts in the Caucasus, notably regarding
Nagorno-Karabakh (see Turkey – Armenia – Azerbaijan: 11 September
2008: ). This is helping to mend ties what have recently been
"difficult" governments, such as that of Switzerland. Relations
between Switzerland and Turkey have been tense due to different views
on the status of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the 1915
killing of Armenians by armies of the Ottoman Empire. Switzerland does
not consider the PKK a terrorist organisation and passed a law that
makes the denial of the World War I killings of Armenians as genocide
an offence. The recent thaw in Turkish-Armenian relations has
encouraged Calmy-Rey to sign the improved MoU with Turkey. Yet this is
only the beginning and investors need to wait and see; so long as the
two countries cannot agree on a joint interpretation of the status of
the PKK and on a common position regarding the 1915 killings, tensions
could flare up again at any moment.