ANKARA, YEREVAN TO SIGN PAPER – REPORT
AzerNews Weekly
March 19 2009
Azerbaijan
Armenians in the United States have appealed to President Barack
Obama and the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the US
legislature, ahead of Obama`s visit to Turkey scheduled for April,
requesting them to reconsider the issue of the alleged World War
I-era genocide.
They claim that it is time for the newly-elected US president,
who pledged to ensure recognition of the purported genocide to the
Armenian lobby while on the campaign trail, to keep that promise. The
appeal further maintained that Obama should term the 1915 developments
in Turkey as genocide in his speech on April 24, the day considered
by Armenians to be the date marking what they call mass killings of
their countrymen in the Ottoman Empire.
However, the Turkish government does not appear concerned over the
"genocide" issue. Thus, the local media has published reports claiming
the country`s border with Armenia, which is currently closed due to
historical tensions, will open up by April 24. Turkey`s influential
Star newspaper, known for maintaining close ties with the country`s
ruling AK party, has said that Ankara and Yerevan are due to sign an
agreement on normalizing relations by that date. The report said that
besides reopening the border, the paper covers restoration of trade
ties and researching the alleged 1915 massacre by a joint commission
of historians, a proposal repeatedly made by Turkey but shrugged off
by Armenia. It also said the wording of the document would be revealed
by April 24.
The source also said the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh
conflict is not the deciding pre-condition for the normalization of
Turkey-Armenia relations, adding that Baku is being informed, from time
to time, about the course of talks underway between the two countries.
Armenia and Turkey have been at odds and the border between the two
countries has been closed since 1993 on Ankara`s insistence due to
Armenia`s policy of occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Armenian
genocide claims.
Observers note that during events in the Ottoman Empire from 1915
to 1923, Armenians had been involved in riots. They had taken up
arms against Turkey and assisted Russia, one of Turkey`s enemies in
WWI. To counter these actions, the Ottoman Empire decided to resettle
the Armenians. However, during this process, Armenians claim that
their ancestors were victims of genocide, while Ankara rejects the
allegations and has repeatedly offered to jointly study the issue.