CLINTON IN CRISIS TALKS WITH ARMENIAN, TURKISH FMS
Asbarez
Jan 28th, 2010
LONDON (RFE/RL)-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has met with
her counterparts from Armenia and Turkey to discuss an intensifying
diplomatic dispute that has raised an additional obstacle to the
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.
Clinton met with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Wednesday
and Armenia’s Edward Nalbandian the next day on the sidelines of an
international conference held in London. She was due to hold more
talks with Davutoglu late on Thursday.
The Armenian and Turkish ministers had a separate meeting there
earlier in the day. An Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman declined
to give any details, telling RFE/RL only that the conversation was
very short and impromptu.
The Turkish Hurriyet Daily News quoted an unnamed Turkish diplomat as
saying that Davutoglu reiterated Ankara’s concerns about the Armenian
Constitutional Court’s interpretation of the normalization "protocols"
signed by the two governments in Switzerland last October. "The two
sides had the chance to review their well-known positions. There is
no change," said the diplomat.
The two top diplomats already discussed the controversy in a phone
call last week, with Davutoglu alleging that the Armenian court acted
against the letter and the spirit of the protocols despite upholding
their conformity with Armenia’s constitution. Nalbandian dismissed
the Turkish claims as "nonsense" at a news conference on Friday.
The U.S. State Department likewise disagreed with Ankara’s stance.
Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon said late last week that
Washington regards the court ruling as a "positive step forward in the
ratification process of the normalization protocols between Turkey and
Armenia" that "does not appear to limit or qualify them in any way."
"The court ruling is restrictive," Davutoglu insisted as he spoke to
Turkish journalists on his way to London on Wednesday. According to
Hurriyet he also said the Turkish government will substantiate its
claims in a legal document that will be sent to the U.S. and Swiss
governments soon.
Ankara is specifically unhappy with the court’s assertion that
the protocols place no obligations on Yerevan pertaining to the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and do not commit it to stop seeking greater
international recognition of the Armenian genocide. Turkish officials
say this runs counter to a protocol clause envisaging the formation
of a Turkish-Armenian inter-government "subcommission" that would
look into the 1915 mass killings and deportations of Armenians in
the Ottoman Empire.
The Armenian side insists that the would-be panel was never supposed
to determine whether the massacres constituted genocide. It argues
that the clause in question stipulates only that the "subcommission"
shall engage in an "impartial scientific examination of historical
documents and archives."
In an interview with Turkish NTV television aired on Tuesday,
Davutoglu said his government will not take further steps towards
the protocols’ ratification by the Turkish parliament unless its
concerns are addressed by Armenia and the mediating powers. "We expect
clear explanations from Armenia regarding the Constitutional Court’s
decision," he said.
Armenian Justice Minister Gevorg Danielian made clear on Thursday that
while the authorities in Yerevan may "provide clarifications" of the
ruling they will take no steps contradicting any of its provisions.
All of those provisions are equally binding for Armenia’s government
and parliament, he said.
"If the other side comes up with a position contradicting this [court]
decision in the process of bilateral relations, then our side must
naturally refrain from those relations and act solely within the
framework of Constitutional Court rulings," added Danielian.