WPS Agency, Russia
October 12, 2009 Monday

MUTE PEACE

by Gajane Movsesjan, Ivan Soloviov

SERJ SARGSJAN’S VISIT TO MOSCOW: ARMENIA AND TURKEY SIGNED PROTOCOLS
ON NORMALIZATION; Armenia and Turkey pledge to normalize bilateral
relations.

President of Armenia Serj Sargsjan will visit Moscow today on Dmitry
Medvedev’s invitation. Presidents of Russia and Armenia recently met
at the CIS summit in Kishinev, Moldova, but the forthcoming meeting in
Moscow is going to be memorable all the same. It will be Sargsjan’s
first international event following what happened on October 10.

That day, Armenia and Turkey made a first step to normalization of the
relations after a more than century-long period of animosity. Foreign
ministers Edward Nalbandjan and Ahmet Davutoglu signed two protocols
in Zurich, Switzerland, on establishment of diplomatic relations and
on advancement of bilateral relations.

The signing was preceded by colossal efforts of international
go-betweens Switzerland, Russia, and particularly the United States.
They persuaded the authorities of Armenia and Turkey to push domestic
political considerations into the background and neglect serious
opposition to the signing in both countries. Regrettably, the
opposition just might have its sweet revenge yet because the documents
will have to be ratified by national parliaments now.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who was present at the ceremony
in Zurich pointed it out. "Signing of the protocols is but the first
step," he said. "The signatories have to ratify the protocols the
sooner the better and get down to their realization in practice." The
Armenian-Turkish border is to be opened two months after the protocols
go into effect.

Some Armenian politicians and political scientists emphasize in the
meantime that the signed protocols might weaken Armenia’s ties with
Russia. Russia has a military base in Armenia at this point. Will
official Yerevan retain the interest in so close a military
cooperation with Moscow after activization of contacts with Turkey, a
NATO member?

The opened border with Turkey will enable the Armenians to trade with
the world and that may eventually cause a shift in Armenia’s
traditional emphasis on cooperation with Russia. Its borders with
Azerbaijan and Turkey closed (leaving only the Iranian one), Armenian
foreign trade was lately restricted to Georgian ports. What counts is
that Armenia could not even maintain land contacts with Russia via
Georgia because the Russian-Georgian border was closed after the war
in the Caucasus in August 2008.

All the same, Lavrov said that the signing of the Armenian-Turkish
protocols made Moscow "sincerely happy" because the matter concerned
"friendly countries". Instead of perceiving this development as a
potential threat to its strategic partnership with Armenia, Russia
chose to expect some economic gains.

In any event, Armenia and Turkey made a step towards each other.
Sargsjan is convinced that normalization of the relations with Turkey
without any preliminary conditions has no alternatives.

Source: Vremya Novostei, No 187, October 12, 2009, pp. 1 – 2