U.S. URGES NO KARABAKH LINK FOR ARMENIA-TURKEY RELATIONS
by Tatul Hakobyan

o/article/2009-06-10-u-s–urges-no-karabakh-link-f or-armenia-turkey-relations&pg=2
Wednesday June 10, 2009

Turkish-Armenian process "can’t go on forever"
Vote will be "a part" of Karabakh settlement

Yerevan – The newly confirmed U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for
European and Eurasian Affairs, Philip Gordon, announced in Yerevan on
June 9 that there should be no preconditions or linkages "to anything
else" in the process of normalizing Armenian-Turkish relations. The
U.S. statement came after repeated announcements by Turkey’s Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey would not open its border
or establish diplomatic relations with Armenia so long as Armenian
forces have not been removed from Azerbaijan’s territory.

Speaking at a news conference at the U.S. Embassy, Mr. Gordon said,
"Turkey-Armenia normalization would benefit Turkey, it would benefit
Armenia, and it would benefit the entire region. And because of that,
we do not think it should be linked to anything else."

The State Department in late April called for the normalization
of Armenian-Turkish relations "without preconditions and within
a reasonable timeframe." Asked to elaborate, Mr. Gordon said, "A
reasonable timeframe is a reasonable timeframe. That is not really
for us to say. It means the process can’t be infinite; it can’t go
on forever. But I think both sides do appreciate that they need to
move forward, and I think they are, and I think they will."

As the Armenian Reporter’s Emil Sanamyan reports from Washington,
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced on June 5, after her
meeting with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, "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.

We’re well aware that this is difficult. It requires patience and
perseverance. But we have seen no flagging of commitment."

Mrs. Clinton continued, "The minister and I discussed this at
length. He brought me up to date on developments. And we are continuing
to encourage the parties to proceed on the path which they themselves
have set. We are supportive, but it is up to the Turkish and Armenian
governments and people to realize the great opportunity this poses. The
normalization of relations not only continues what I have seen from the
Turkish government, which is a desire to actually solve problems, and I
applaud that, but we think it will bring great benefits to the region."

Mr. Davutoglu, in turn, said, "We are very optimistic. We want to
achieve a prosperous, peaceful Caucasia. And in that sense, we are
fully committed to our normalization process with Armenia."

Visiting the Armenian Genocide Memorial and Museum in Yerevan

Mr. Gordon, who assumed his office on May 15, made Armenia the first
stop on his first trip to the South Caucasus.

"I have only been in office for two weeks, but it seemed to me that
there are such important and even historic developments going on in
Armenia and the region that I should try to come out here as soon as
possible. I am going to Georgia and Azerbaijan, but I wanted Armenia
to be my first stop. I visited the Genocide Memorial and Museum this
morning," he said.

Armenian-Turkish dialogue, the resolution of the Karabakh conflict,
and U.S.-Armenia bilateral relations were the main issues on which the
assistant secretary focused during his meetings in Yerevan. Mr. Gordon
met Armenia’s president and foreign minister, and representatives of
the opposition and civil society.

"President [Serge] Sargsian and Assistant Secretary Gordon
thoroughly discussed the process of normalization of Armenia-Turkey
relations. Noting that this a historic opportunity and that
normalization stems from the interests of Armenia, Turkey, and
the entire region, Philip Gordon reiterated that the United States
unequivocally supports steps taken in that direction," the Armenian
president’s press service reported.

Some form of vote is possible in Nagorno-Karabakh

During the meeting President Sargsian held with Mr. Gordon, the two
exchanged views on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. According to
the president’s office, Mr. Sargsian presented in brief the history of
the conflict and Yerevan’s position. The Armenian president stressed
once again, "Our country is committed to the peaceful resolution
of the conflict and is ready to continue negotiations based on the
Madrid principles."

At the news conference, a journalist cited statements by Azerbaijan’s
President Ilham Aliyev to the effect that there is no mechanism for
the secession of Nagorno-Karabakh from Azerbaijan, and asked whether
a referendum was not a legitimate way of doing so.

Mr. Gordon responded: "Among the principles that need to be taken
into account, self-determination is one, so is territorial integrity,
and so is nonuse of force, and the outcome needs to reflect these
three principles in a balanced way. They are all important. So, yes,
I do think that some form of vote reflecting the will of people will
be an important part of a settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh."

He also said: "My authority concerns 50 countries and three
international organizations. However I should say that in the entire
period of occupying this position, I paid far more attention to issues
of Karabakh conflict settlement and Armenian-Turkish relations."

Yerevan’s municipal elections

Asked about municipal elections held in Yerevan on May 31, Mr. Gordon
said the United States does not consider the polls to have been free
and fair.

"The results were only tallied up a couple of days ago, and so we
don’t have a formal statement or judgment right now. But I have heard
reports of irregularities and problems with the election. It wasn’t
up to the standard that we would like to see," he said.

Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, was present at
Mr. Gordon’s news conference. She said that a report based on the
observations of the embassy’s monitors will be published in the
coming days.

"We saw a number of instances of irregularities, fraud, and
intimidation not only in one or two districts but throughout the city
during voting and also during the count," she said.