Turkish-Armenian signing delayed; Clinton mediates

AP
10 Oct 09

By ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS and BRADLEY S. KLAPPER

ZURICH ‘ U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton engaged in
last-minute diplomacy on Saturday aimed at salvaging an accord to
establish diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia after a
century of enmity.

The agreement was supposed to be signed by the Turkish and Armenian
foreign ministers at a reception in the Swiss city of Zurich, with
Clinton among the world dignitaries in attendance. But a dispute over
the statements the countries would make sparked a delay, and forced her
to intervene.

"She’s involved in working out an agreeable text," said a senior U.S.
State Department official. "She’s talking with the Armenian foreign
minister, and she had a long talk with the Turkish foreign minister."

U.S. officials said Clinton and the Armenian delegation were on the way
to the signing ceremony, about 90 minutes after it was supposed to
begin. Clinton had abruptly returned to her hotel just before the
scheduled start as problems emerged.

Diplomats said the Armenians were concerned about wording in the
Turkish statement that was to be made after the signing ceremony.

The Turks and Armenians are to sign an accord establishing diplomatic
ties in hope of reopening their border and ending a century of acrimony
over their bloody past.

Their parliaments are expected to ratify it, but nationalists on both
sides are seeking to derail implementation of the agreement. Major
countries, however, expressed their support for the accord, with the
foreign ministers of the United States, Russia, France and the European
Union in the room to watch the signing.

In Turkey, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country was
showing "goodwill" to restore ties with Armenia. But he said Turkey was
keen on seeing Armenian troops withdrawn from Nagorno-Karabakh, an
Armenian-occupied enclave in Azerbaijan that has been a center of
regional tensions.

"We are trying to boost our relations with Armenia in a way that will
cause no hard feelings for Azerbaijan," Erdogan told reporters.

Armenian President Serge Sarkisian said his country was taking
"responsible decisions" in normalizing relations with Turkey, despite
what he called the unhealable wounds of genocide.

The agreement calls for a panel to discuss "the historical dimension"
of the killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians during World War
I. The discussion is to include "an impartial scientific examination of
the historical records and archives to define existing problems and
formulate recommendations."

That clause is viewed as a concession to Turkey, which denies genocide,
contending the toll is inflated and that those killed were victims of
civil war.

"There is no alternative to the establishment of the relations with
Turkey without any precondition," said Sarkisian. "It is the dictate of
the time."

Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner were among the leaders who were on hand to
attend the signing, when it takes place.

Better ties between Turkey, a regional heavyweight, and poor,
landlocked Armenia are a priority for President Barack Obama. They
could help reduce tensions in the troubled Caucasus region and
facilitate its growing role as a corridor for energy supplies bound for
the West.

Javier Solana, the EU’s foreign policy chief, thanked Turkey, which is
a candidate for EU membership.

"This is an important cooperation, no doubt, of Turkey to solve one
issue that pertains to a region which is in our neighborhood," Solana
told AP Television News after arriving in Zurich.

Switzerland, which mediated six weeks of talks between Turkey and
Armenia to reach the accord, is hosting the signing.

Necati Cetinkaya, a deputy chairman of Turkey’s ruling Justice and
Development Party, defended the deal, saying "sincere steps that are
being taken will benefit Turkey." He said Turkey is aiming to form
friendly ties with all its neighbors and could benefit from trade with
Armenia.

But Yilmaz Ates of the main opposition Republican People’s Party said
Turkey should avoid any concessions.

"If Armenia wants to repair relations … then it should end occupation
of Nagorno-Karabakh. That’s it," Ates said Saturday.

About 10,000 protesters rallied Friday in Armenia’s capital to oppose
the signing, and a tour of Armenian communities by Sarkisian sparked
protests in Lebanon and France, with demonstrators in Paris shouting
"Traitor!"

On the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, Turks have close cultural and linguistic
ties with Azerbaijan, which is pressing Turkey for help in recovering
its land. Turkey shut its border with Armenia to protest the Armenian
invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993.

Turkey wants Armenia to withdraw some troops from the enclave area to
show goodwill and speed the opening of their joint border, but Armenia
has yet to agree, said Omer Taspinar, Turkey project director at the
Brookings Institution in Washington.

"We may end up in a kind of awkward situation where there are
diplomatic relations, but the border is still closed," Taspinar said.

___

Associated Press Writers Matthew Lee in Zurich, Avet Demourian in
Yerevan, Armenia, and Christopher Torchia in Istanbul contributed to
this report.