MANOYAN: DIALOGUE WITH TURKEY COULD HURT ARMENIA
n-dialogue-with-turkey-could-hurt-armenia/
April 14, 2009
YEREVAN (Combined Sources)-Dialogue with Turkey could hurt Armenia,
said ARF political director Giro Manoyan on April 13 during a press
conference.
Manoyan emphasized that any agreement made on opening the
Turkey-Armenia border must come with documents on the establishment
of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Speaking at a news conference on April 10, President Serge Sarkisian
said Armenia would "emerge from this process stronger" because the
international community would have no doubts about its commitment to
an unconditional normalization in Turkey-Armenia relations.
"In a sense, we share the president’s opinion," said Manoyan, "but it
all depends on how long those negotiations will continue and whether
or not we will lose something else in the process."
Until now, he said, Armenia has successfully avoided the inclusion of
the Nagorno-Karabagh peace process in its discussions with Turkey. Yet,
the recent vocal opposition to any agreement between Armenia and
Turkey by Azerbaijan could compel Turkey to take a second look.
In the event that Turkey yields to Azeri demands, the talks will
crumble, Manoyan said.
Turkey has entered into this "normalization" process because of its
regional interests, he added, and talk of an impending agreement was
strategically planned to ward off any possible recognition of the
Armenian Genocide by President Barack Obama, who had made a campaign
pledge to properly characterize the events of 1915 as genocide.
"One of the reasons why Turkey began the negotiations is to prevent
Obama from uttering the word ‘genocide’ on April 24," he told
journalists. "And if the Turks succeed in doing that, I think we will
not emerge stronger, whatever the outcome of the negotiations."
Obama avoided using the term during his visit to Turkey in early
April, saying he did not want to undermine Turkish-Armenian talks,
which "could bear fruit very quickly, very soon."
However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has since twice
stated that Turkey will not establish diplomatic relations with
Armenia nor open the Turkish-Armenian border before a resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "We will not sign a final deal with
Armenia unless there is agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia on
Nagorno-Karabagh," Erdogan said on April 10, according to the Anatolia
news agency.
In his press conference, Manoyan repeated that any agreement between
Armenia and Turkey should not call into question the veracity of
the Armenian Genocide. He also said that the ARF would publish
its assessment of the political and economic implications on of an
Armenian-Turkey agreement Armenia in the near future.