PanARMENIAN.Net

Intermediate resumes of the Armenian foreign policy

Karine Ter-Sahakyan

Armenia is not determined to yield to Turkey or to any other country
in the issue of international recognition of the Armenian Genocide or
to compromise with regulation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
09.04.2009 GMT+04:00

The year since inauguration of the third Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan introduced some changes in foreign policy of the country,
without changing at the same time the priority directions, stipulated
in the Declaration of Independence of Armenia. And if summits were, to
some extent, expected, two events were utterly significant both for
Armenia and for the entire region.

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ However it should be noted that but for the August
war between Georgia and South Ossetia and the subsequent aggravation
of Russian-Georgian relations, there would possibly be neither the
Meindorf Declaration, nor all the more, the historical visit of the
Turkish President to Yerevan.

The first step towards the resume of Armenian-Turkish dialogue was
taken during the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Astana, the
capital of Kazakhstan, where Serzh Sargsyan and Abdullah Gul in rather
an unrestrained situation exchanged a pair of words, which in its turn
caused a storm of `indignation’ in the Azeri press¦ It was quite
expected that concrete steps might follow the meeting, and they really
did. The President of Armenia invited his Turkish associate to the
football match between the teams of Armenia and Turkey in Yerevan. Let
us directly say that Abdullah Gul simply could not refuse, otherwise
the image of Turkey would suffer in the world arena. As for Armenia,
the President’s initiative gave her a considerably great number of
dividends. After Gul’s arrival, Armenian-Turkish talks, which before
then used to be held in the atmosphere of secrecy, became more
open. In the end, the negotiations may not even lead to the opening of
the Armenian-Turkish border, but the fact of conducting negotiations
is already good. And what is probably most important – Armenia for
some obscure economic benefits is not going to yield to Turkey or to
any other country in the issue of international recognition of the
Armenian Genocide or to compromise with regulation of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. With the help of President Sargsyan the
term `football diplomacy’ took roots in the world policy, just like
the term `ping-pong diplomacy’ which marked the beginning of
restoration of American-Chinese relations in the 70’s of last century.

The second significant event was the signing of the Meindorf
Declaration on peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,
although both these events are interconnected. Let us not forget that
it was Turkey that proposed the `Platform of Stability and Cooperation
in the Caucasus’, while signing of the declaration was simply Russia’s
answer. It is also appropriate to recall that signing of the
declaration took place directly before the Presidential Elections in
the United States. A month later a similar declaration was issued at
the summit of OSCE Foreign Affairs leaders. However, none of the
declarations drew nearer the solution of the Karabakh conflict the way
it is seen to the `arbiters’ of the fate of Karabakh Armenians, who
actually do not understand why to solve what was already solved in
1994. Thus, all the words on `golden opportunity’, `window’ and
`advance’ are simply diplomatic figures called to conceal inaction
and, in majority of cases, to simply hide the reluctance to examine
the labyrinths of the Caucasian policy.

As far as the Karabakh problem is concerned, according to the
President of Armenia, the happiest day in his life will be the one,
when Azerbaijan will recognize the right of Nagorno- Karabakh people
to self-determination, and Karabakh will either become an independent
country or it will join Armenia. `On that day I will resign and will
give up politics. But the process of resolution of Karabakh conflict
is not at a deadlock. I believe there is a possibility of peaceful
resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Otherwise I would not
have run for the post of the RA President,’ said Serzh Sargsyan.

We shall only add to the aforesaid that in the past year the relations
Armenia-EU, Armenia-NATO grew stronger, to say nothing of bilateral
relations with the USA, Russia, Iran, France and Germany. And lastly,
Armenia became a participant in the program of the European Commission
`Eastern Partnership’.