TURKISH-ARMENIAN DEAL ON COURSE, CLINTON SAYS
Hurriyet
June 8 2009
Turkey
WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says in a press
conference that the process between Turkey and Armenia aiming to
normalize their ties continues positively. Although there have been
no concrete steps taken by either state since late April, Clinton
says Washington strongly supports the process including a road map.
Despite a lack of visible progress since late April when Turkey and
Armenia jointly pledged to normalize their ties, U.S. Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton has said that the deal was on track and that
Washington strongly supported the process.
Clinton was speaking after a Friday meeting with Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu at the State Department.
With Switzerland standing as observer, Turkey and Armenia jointly
said April 22 that they would work to normalize their relations and
that a road map had been drawn up for that.
Although it has not been made public, the road map is believed to
include a set of steps, including the creation of full diplomatic ties,
and more importantly, the opening of the two neighbors’ land border.
Turkey was one of the first nations to recognize Armenia’s independence
from the disintegrating Soviet Union in 1991, but has never set up
diplomatic relations because of a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Ankara also closed in 1993 the land border after the Armenian
invasion and occupation of the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and part
of Azerbaijan proper. A fragile cease-fire is in place, but a peace
agreement has never been signed.
Azerbaijan is concerned over the possibility that Turkey may
normalize ties with Armenia without progress toward the solution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
Relieving Azerbaijani worries, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
pledged in Baku in early May that Turkey would not open the Armenian
border without a Karabakh solution.
On the U.S. front, American Armenians are pressuring the administration
and Congress for formal recognition of World War I-era killings of
Armenians in the Ottoman empire as "genocide," and analysts warn
that without a normalization of ties between Ankara and Yerevan,
this matter will remain a threat for Turkey.
But at the Washington meeting with Foreign Minister Davutoglu,
Clinton struck a hopeful note that the normalization would take place.
Swiss assistance "I have been very encouraged by the progress that has
been made and by the commitment of the governments involved. Certainly
Turkey and Armenia, with the assistance of the Swiss government,
have committed themselves to a process of normalization," she said.
"We’re well aware that this is difficult. It requires patience
and perseverance. But we have seen no flagging of commitment," she
said. "We believe that a lot of progress has been made in a relatively
short period of time to resolve issues that are of long standing."
Clinton said that Azerbaijan and Armenia were also working on the
Karabakh problem.
Davutoglu said: "we are fully committed to our normalization process
with Armenia."
He also said that "on the main regional issues like the Middle East,
Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Caucasus, Black Sea, and all the relevant
issues, we have a common agenda."
Washington’s support "I am very happy to see that we have very
identical, similar approaches to many of these issues," he said.
Clinton reiterated Washington’s support for Turkey in the fight against
the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) terrorism and her backing for
Turkey’s eventual membership to the European Union.Davutoglu is due
to visit Afghanistan and Pakistan this week. The threat raised by
radical Islamist insurgents in both countries is on the top of the
United States’ international agenda.
Earlier last week, Turkish and U.S. officials talked about the
possibility of the Turkish military’s training support for the
Pakistani army on counterinsurgency.