DAVUTOGLU IN BID TO WIN PARLIAMENT’S SUPPORT FOR TALKS WITH ARMENIA
Today’s Zaman
Sept 12 2009
Turkey
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday launched a round of talks
aimed at winning the opposition’s support for the government’s plans
to normalize relations with neighboring Armenia by opening the mutual
border and restoring diplomatic ties.
Davutoglu yesterday met with Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali
Sahin. Opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal,
skeptical of the rapprochement process with Armenia, accepted a
request from Davutoglu to meet to discuss the planned steps. The two
will meet next Tuesday.
The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a strong critic of the plans to
restore relations with Armenia, however, rejected Davutoglu’s request
for meeting.
Under Switzerland’s mediation Turkey and Armenia announced on Aug. 31
that they had agreed to start their internal political consultations
before signing two protocols on the establishment of diplomatic ties
and the development of bilateral relations. Davutoglu’s talks with
opposition parties mark the beginning of the domestic consultations
process, which is expected to be concluded within six weeks following
the announcement of the deal. Conclusion of domestic consultations
will then be followed by ratification of the protocols by Turkish
and Armenian parliaments. Parliament’s role is thus vital in the
normalization process. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said
the accords would not go into effect until the Turkish Parliament
had approved them.
Foreign Ministry bureaucrats expect that Davutoglu’s consultations
with political parties will be wrapped up by end of the month. "If
everything goes as planned and if mutual steps are taken, the borders
could be opened around New Year," Davutoglu said in an interview
earlier this month.
"Irrespective of what measure we may take in foreign policy, the source
of legitimacy for all steps of the government is Parliament. This
is what I told the Parliament speaker today," Davutoglu said after
talks with Sahin. He said he had requested meetings with leaders of
all parties that won at least 1 percent of the national vote in the
last general election. "We hope to finish those meetings as soon
as possible before Parliament returns from its recess," he told
reporters. Davutoglu, who departed for a visit to neighboring Iran
at the invitation of his Iranian counterpart, Manouchehr Mottaki,
later in the day, added that the schedule of the meetings is most
likely to be clear in the next one or two days.
Turkey closed its border and severed its diplomatic relations with
Armenia in 1993, in show of solidarity with Azerbaijan in a war it
fought against Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh. But nearly
two years ago, Turkish and Armenian diplomats launched closed-door
talks on the normalization of relations. Reopening the border and
establishing ties with Armenia would increase predominantly Muslim
Turkey’s influence in the region and aid its faltering bid to join
the European Union. The bloc has long asked candidate member Turkey
to normalize ties with its neighbor, and restoring diplomatic ties
would also be beneficial for regional security.
But the opposition is skeptical, saying a possible move to reopen
the border without Armenian withdrawal from Azerbaijani territory
would be detrimental to Turkey’s national interests. In addition
to the mostly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh, seven adjacent
Azerbaijani regions were also occupied during the 1991 war.
The opposition also wants Armenia to drop its accusations that 1.5
million Armenians were killed in a genocide campaign in Ottoman Turkey
during the World War I years and says the government bows to pressure
from the US and the EU to normalize ties with Armenia.
Asked whether he requested a special session in Parliament to discuss
the rapprochement process, Davutoglu said he did not, emphasizing
that it was up to Parliament whether to request such a session.
The foreign minister also reiterated concern on a clash between
Azerbaijani and Armenian forces in Nagorno-Karabakh, reportedly killing
five Armenian soldiers on Thursday. Neither Armenian nor Azerbaijani
officials officially confirmed the clash. But Davutoglu said he had
an extensive phone conversation with his Azerbaijani counterpart to
discuss the issue on Thursday and that he explained all the details,
but did not elaborate.
"Of course this is a development that saddened us as we are trying to
establish lasting peace in the region. We hope it will not repeat,"
he said.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress