Separation of two processes ineffective: Jamestown Foundation

News from Armenia – NEWS.am
17:21 / 12/12/2009

Vladimir Socor, the analyst at Jamestown Foundation comments on U.S.
role in Armenia-Turkey reconciliation, saying that separation of
Karabakh conflict and Armenia-Turkey rapprochement or privileging the
latter proved to be `ineffective’. `Some U.S. administration officials
with experience in the region did caution that progress was achievable
if the two tracks were synchronized, rather than separated.’

`Obama’s initiative could have generated positive dynamics throughout
the region, with strategic gains for the United States, had it pursued
the Turkish-Armenian normalization track in synchronization with the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict-resolution track,’ the article reads.

According to the author, during his visit to U.S., Turkish Premier
Erdogan was reminded that Protocols should be ratified `without
preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe.’

`The US and EU pressed for fast progress on Turkey-Armenia
normalization, but failed to press for Armenia-Azerbaijan
conflict-resolution in the &`Minsk Group’ or the bilateral format,’
Socor says.

According to Socor, Erdogan’s visit to Washington proves that Turkish
authorities `have adjusted their course’. `It remains for Baku to
diversify its outreach to Turkey beyond Kemalist, nationalist, and
moderate conservative groups, so as to encompass also the increasingly
influential liberal opinion-making circles,’ the author concludes.

A.G.