Armenia-Turkey negotiations hit a bump
Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs refrains from visiting Istanbul
following statements by Turkish President and Prime Minister
YEREVAN, 5 March 2009 — The Armenian Yerkir Media TV reports that
Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edward Nalbandian, did not get
on the Yerevan-Istanbul flight late this evening, after issuing a
terse response to announcements made by Turkish President Gul and
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan that Turkey will not lift its blockade
of Armenia unless Armenia fulfils Turkish preconditions regarding the
Mountainous (Nagorno) Karabagh issue and the international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide.
Responding to a question by the Interfax news agency, the Armenian
Foreign Minister said: "The establishment of Armenian-Turkish
relations should be realized without any preconditions and with that
understanding we have been and are conducting the negotiations with
the Turkish side.
"The establishment of relations is not related to the resolution of
the Karabagh issue and that issue has not been discussed during the
negotiations aimed at establishing Armenian-Turkish relations.
"It has been said many times and I wish to stress again that the
establishment of Armenian-Turkish relations can not put into question
the veracity of the Armenian Genocide.
"Tens of countries and international organizations have recognized the
Armenian genocide and Armenia has hailed that recognition.
"I think that the announcements that put forward preconditions to the
establishment of Armenian-Turkish relations can be viewed as an
attempt to fail the advances registered during the negotiations,"
concludes Foreign Minister Nalbandian.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry distributed Minister Nalbandian’s
response just before the Armavia flight from Yerevan to Istanbul, at
23:06.
The Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs was to attend a two-day
United Nations cultural forum in Istanbul. The Armenian Minister’s
now failed visit was seen by the U.S. and Turkish media as a step
towards the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and
Armenia, which Turkey has refused since Armenia gained its
independence in 1991.
The Armenian Foreign Minister’s derailed visit to Turkey was to
coincide with U.S. President Barack Obama’s official visit to Turkey.
Analysts had pointed to the issue of the Armenian Genocide as possibly
the most challenging for the president to deal with during his talks
with Turkish officials.
On several occasions during his campaign for president, Obama had
committed himself to properly recognize the massacres and deportations
of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide. Turkey continues
to vehemently deny that there was any genocidal intent towards the
Armenians in the last years of the empire. Official Ankara spends
millions of dollars in its denial campaign, which lobbies politicians,
entices support from journalists, funds academic denial efforts,
suppresses education efforts on the Armenian Genocide to the general
public in North and South America, Europe, and the Middle East (Israel
especially).
The main battlefield for genocide recognition in recent years has been
the United States, where a majority of Members of Congress support
passing a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
Turkish officials had hoped that the recent rapprochement between
Turkey and Armenia can be used as a bargaining chip to keep Obama from
speaking the truth. On numerous occasions in recent months, top
Turkish officials have warned the U.S. that interfering in discussions
between Turkey and Armenia and recognizing the genocide would be
detrimental to the budding relations between Yerevan and Ankara.
Now, announcements by the Turkish Prime Minister and the Turkish
President, resetting preconditions to the establishment of diplomatic
relations with Armenia and to the lifting of the blockade have
actually led the Armenia-Turkey negotiations into a rocky road or
maybe even an impasse.