EU HAILS ‘CRUCIAL STEP’ IN TURKEY-ARMENIA DISPUTE
Agence France Presse
September 1, 2009 Tuesday 7:17 PM GMT
EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana on Tuesday hailed an agreement
between Armenia and Turkey to establish diplomatic ties as a "crucial
step" towards ending their decades-long grudge.
"I welcome yesterday’s agreement between Turkey and Armenia to start
internal political consultations… for establishing diplomatic
relations," Solana said in a statement.
"This is a crucial step towards normalisation of bilateral relations,
which would greatly contribute to peace, security and stability
throughout an important region of Europe," he added.
Armenia and Turkey announced on Monday that they had agreed on a plan
to establish diplomatic ties and re-open their joint border.
The two countries currently have no diplomatic relations, a closed
frontier and a long history of hostility rooted in massacres of
Armenians under the Ottoman Turks during World War I.
Ankara and Yerevan said they would hold six weeks of domestic
consultations before signing two protocols on establishing diplomatic
ties and developing bilateral relations.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, also welcomed the
diplomatic progress made.
"This agreement should contribute to peace and stability in the South
Caucasus," EU commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Olli Rehn said
in a separate statement.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe "warmly"
welcomed the deal between the two OSCE members.
"The establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia
will be a positive step not only for the southern Caucasus region
but also for the region at-large," said Greek Foreign Minister Dora
Bakoyannis, whose country currently holds the OSCE presidency.
Russia hailed the "goodwill" of former Soviet state Armenia and Turkey
in moving towards normal relations.
Moscow "considers the goodwill of Armenia and Turkey positive in
starting the process" to establish diplomatic ties, the Russian
foreign ministry said in a statement.
Turkey has long refused to establish diplomatic links with Armenia
over Yerevan’s efforts to have the World War I-era massacres recognised
as genocide — a label Turkey strongly rejects.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were systematically killed
between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire, Turkey’s predecessor,
was falling apart.
Turkey categorically rejects the genocide label and says between
300,000 and 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil
strife when Armenians took up arms in eastern Anatolia and sided with
invading Russian troops.