SARKISIAN STEPS UP CRITICISM OF TURKEY, WARNS OF REPRISALS

Asbarez Staff
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J ul 31st, 2009

YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-President Serzh Sarkisian has stepped up his criticism
of Turkey’s preconditions for normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations,
saying that they run counter to agreements reached by Ankara and
Yerevan during their year-long negotiations.

The criticism was echoed by more than 80 U.S. lawmakers who accused
Ankara of backpedaling on a U.S.-brokered "roadmap" to establishing
diplomatic relations between the two neighboring nations and reopening
their border.

"For one year, Armenia and Turkey held negotiations and agreed on
two documents," Sarkisian said in televised remarks aired late on
Thursday. "But since that some political forces in Turkey have been
trying to set conditions and link the establishment of diplomatic
relations with Armenia with the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict and Armenia’s relations with Azerbaijan."

"We do accept that Turkey is a big country, we do accept its role both
in the region and the entire world," he said. "But at the same time,
we Armenians are an independent nation, and it is inadmissible to
talk to us in the language of preconditions. Any tough step brings
about counter-steps." He did not elaborate on the warning.

Sarkisian spoke during a visit to Lake Sevan where he attended a summer
festival organized by his government for visiting young people from
the worldwide Armenian Diaspora. Many in the Diaspora have followed
with unease Armenia’s rapprochement with Turkey that began shortly
after Sarkisian took office in April last year. Sarkisian has been
criticized by Armenia’s opposition and the Diaspora for allowing
Western-backed process to develop in Turkey’s favor without earning
Armenia any tangible benefits.

The process thus far has allowed Turkey to couple its talks with
Armenia to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and hamper efforts for US
recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Sarkisian’s remarks came just two days after he again made clear that
he will not travel to Turkey to watch the October 14 return match
of the two countries’ national football teams unless Ankara takes
"real steps" to reopen the Turkish-Armenian border. The two teams
played their first game in Yerevan last September in the presence of
Sarkisian and Turkish President Abdullah Gul.

Gul’s visit to Armenia was followed by more Turkish-Armenian talks,
with the Turks reportedly agreeing to drop their long-standing linkage
between the normalization of bilateral ties and a Karabakh settlement
acceptable to Azerbaijan. However, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
and other Turkish leaders have repeatedly said in recent months that
the Turkish-Armenian border will remain closed as long as the Karabakh
conflict remains unresolved. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
reaffirmed this precondition on Wednesday.

Despite these statements, Sarkisian until recently sounded cautiously
optimistic about the success of the Turkish-Armenian dialogue. It
was not until July 6 that he first publicly expressed his frustration
with Ankara’s stance.

Highlighting that frustration, 82 members of the U.S. House of
Representatives on Thursday sent a joint letter to President Barack
Obama expressing concern about "Turkish backpedaling" on the still
unpublicized "roadmap" deal that was announced on April 22. "Turkey’s
public statements and actions since April 24th stand in sharp contrast
to this agreement and undermine U.S. policy that normalization take
place without preconditions," the letter said.

"It would appear that Turkey, in an effort to block U.S. recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, agreed to a roadmap it did not intend
to uphold," the legislators charged. "Therefore, we urge your
Administration to separate the issues of normalization and genocide
recognition."

In an April 24 statement, Obama refrained from properly recognizing
the Genocide, implicitly citing the need not to undermine the
Turkish-Armenian rapprochement.