TURKEY, ARMENIA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT BORDER WILL NOT BE OPENED ANYTIME SOON
Vincent Lima

The Armenian Reporter
key-armenia-acknowledge-that-border-will-not-be-op ened-anytime-soon
Wednesday April 22, 2009

The two countries announce an agreement on a "road-map" for an
"on-going process" of normalizing relations

Yerevan – In a clear indication that there were no prospects for
the immediate normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey,
the foreign ministries of the two countries issued a joint statement
on April 22 announcing that they had agreed an a framework for an
"on-going process" toward normalization.

The brief statement, which was cosigned by Switzerland as mediator,
announced that Armenia and Turkey "have agreed on a comprehensive
framework for the normalization of their bilateral relations in a
mutually satisfactory manner." The statement said "a road-map has
been identified," but provided no details.

The statement was plainly timed to allow President Barack Obama
to cite it in any message he may release on April 24, the day the
Armenian Genocide is commemorated.

Asked by the Armenian Reporter how Armenia’s interests were served
by the timing of the joint statement, the spokesperson of Armenia’s
Foreign Ministry would only say, "The position of the Foreign Ministry
is expressed in the statement."

Preconditions remain

Reacting to the joint statement, Acting State Department spokesperson
Robert Wood said the U.S. position remained that "normalization should
take place without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe,"
Mediamax reported.

But Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on April 19 had
reiterated Turkey’s main precondition for reopening the border with
Armenia, which it closed 16 years ago. Speaking in Germany, Mr. Erdogan
said, "A decision to open the border gate with Armenia will depend on
the Nagorno-Karabakh issue being solved. If the Armenian occupation
of Azeri territory continues, Turkey will not open its border gate,"
Sabah reported.

Mr. Erdogan’s announcement effectively ruled out the normalization
of relations with Armenia in the foreseeable future.

In the run-up to April 24, Yerevan, Ankara, and Washington repeatedly
indicated that a deal on opening the border was imminent. Asked in
Istanbul on April 6 about pre-election pledges that as president he
would recognize the Armenian Genocide, Mr. Obama had argued that talks
between Armenia and Turkey could "bear fruit very quickly very soon"
and he did not want to "tilt" in favor of either side, presumably by
speaking candidly about the Armenian Genocide.

In testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on April 22,
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said she had "been very
encouraged by the bold steps that have recently been taken by Turkish
and Armenian leaders to reconcile their countries with each other
and with their shared and painful past."

The joint statement on April 22 reported "tangible progress and mutual
understanding," but made it clear that Mr. Obama’s hopes that the
talks would "bear fruit very quickly" were not justified.

The full text of the joint statement follows.

Joint Statement of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Republic
of Armenia, the Republic of Turkey and the Swiss Federal Department
of Foreign Affairs

Turkey and Armenia, together with Switzerland as mediator, have
been working intensively with a view to normalizing their bilateral
relations and developing them in a spirit of good-neighborliness, and
mutual respect, and thus to promoting peace, security and stability
in the whole region.

The two parties have achieved tangible progress and mutual
understanding in this process and they have agreed on a comprehensive
framework for the normalization of their bilateral relations in a
mutually satisfactory manner. In this context, a road-map has been
identified.

This agreed basis provides a positive prospect for the on-going
process.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress