US DIPLOMAT WARNS ARMENIA-TURKEY TALKS CAN’T GO ON FOREVER

Today’s Zaman
June 11 2009
Turkey

A senior US diplomat has called on estranged neighbors Armenia and
Turkey to make progress in reconciliation talks aimed at mending
relations and reopening their border.

Philip Gordon, the US assistant secretary of state for European and
Eurasian affairs, speaking at a press conference held on Tuesday
in Yerevan, said talks should be concluded within a "reasonable
timeframe."

"The process can’t go on forever. But I think the parties understand
that both sides appreciated this — they need to go forward and they
will," he said. "There should be no preconditions [in the talks],"
he added, underlining that the normalization of diplomatic ties
between the two neighbors "would benefit Turkey, Armenia and the
entire region."

Ankara and Yerevan announced in April that they had agreed to a roadmap
for normalizing relations, but there have been few signs of progress
since the announcement. Gordon, who assumed his post last month, was
due to visit the two other ex-Soviet republics of the South Caucasus,
Georgia and Azerbaijan, on Wednesday and Thursday.

As of Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stated that
all actors in the southern Caucasus have a joint future that should
be worked on together. His remarks came when he was reminded of
recent remarks by Armenia’s foreign minister, Edward Nalbandian, who
last month suggested that it is now Turkey’s turn to contribute to
the ongoing joint efforts with his country for the normalization of
bilateral relations between the two estranged neighbors when he said,
"The ball is in Turkey’s court now."

"It is not a ball rolling around in the field, it is a joint future,"
Davutoglu said, citing Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Russia and Turkey
as the main regional actors who should work together to build a joint
future. An online English-language Armenian news portal, meanwhile,
reported that Gordon also criticized the Armenian authorities’
handling of the May 31 municipal elections in Yerevan after holding
what he called "excellent and productive talks" with President Serzh
Sarksyan and Nalbandian.