SERGE SARGSIAN: GREATEST RISK IS THAT PROTOCOLS WILL BE DEFEATED

Armenian Reporter
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Thursday October 01, 2009

Karabakh agreement is not imminent

President discusses Genocide, Turkey policy in interview

Yerevan – President Serge Sargsian expressed confidence about
Armenians’ ability to benefit from the proposed normalization of
relations with Turkey, even as he acknowledged that the planned
signing of protocols with Turkey also involved risks and downsides.

Mr. Sargsian responded to questions posed by the editors of the
Armenian Reporter ahead of a five-city, four-country tour that starts
this week and includes visits to New York and Los Angeles on October
3 and 4, during which he said he intends to "consult" with Armenian
diaspora communities on Armenia’s Turkey policy.

Asked about the rewards and risks of proceeding with ratification
and implementation of the protocols between Armenia and Turkey, the
president said that with an end to the Turkish blockade of Armenia,
"a potential market with a population of 70 million opens before our
producers." He argued that "the greatest risk is that the protocols
will not be implemented."

Non-implementation "will deepen the atmosphere of mistrust and
enmity in the region," Mr. Sargsian warned. "For a long time after
that, no politician will be able to touch the issue of normalizing
Armenia-Turkey relations."

The Karabakh connection

For the protocols to be implemented, they must be ratified by the
parliaments of Armenia and Turkey. Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan has repeatedly linked the opening of the border with Armenia,
promised in the protocols, to satisfaction of Azerbaijan’s demands
in the Karabakh peace process.

On the Karabakh issue, Mr. Sargsian revealed that he did "not expect
to sign any document in Moldova" during his meeting with Azerbaijan’s
Ilham Aliyev during the Commonwealth of Independent States summit on
October 8.

"Let me go further: in view of the limited progress we have made on
agreeing to very few portions of the Madrid Document, we are quite
far from signing any document at this stage," the president told the
Armenian Reporter.

Mr. Sargsian took the position that normalization of relations with
Turkey would help generate the kind of trust in the region that is a
prerequisite for the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. Moreover,
he said, "The only way Turkey can help the resolution of the Karabakh
conflict is by not interfering."

"In spite of the Genocide"

Mr. Sargsian expressed his interest in the normalization of relations
with Turkey even before his election as president. On December 22,
2006, as defense minister, he authored a Wall Street Journal op-ed "In
spite of the Genocide…" As prime minister, Mr. Sargsian reiterated
the position in an October 22, 2007, conversation with the Armenian
Reporter and elsewhere.

Since the start of his presidency in April 2008, Mr. Sargsian has
made normalization of relations with Turkey a centerpiece of his
foreign policy.

In this week’s interview, the president conceded that as a result of
the provisions of the protocols, "perhaps in some countries and in
some circumstances, the Armenian lobby will face certain difficulties"
in pursuing affirmation of the Armenian Genocide. But, he added,
"It must also be understood that there are bound to be certain
complications in such a difficult process."

He expressed confidence, however, that "sooner or later" all the
countries that have not yet recognized the Armenian Genocide will do
so. He did not elaborate.

"The overarching purpose of the process for the international
recognition of the Armenian Genocide is to see the Turkish people and
Turkey follow the lead of numerous civilized countries and recognize
the fact of the Genocide," the president added. "There is the current
generation of Turks, who must come to terms with their own history. I
think our present initiative is opening doors for this internal
discussion, this internal reconciliation."