EX-GENERAL SEES CONTINUED TURKISH LINKAGE BETWEEN KARABAKH, ARMENIA TIES
Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty ~ azatutyun.am
March 25 2010
Armenia — Turkish and Armenian flags fly alongside each other during
an international sporting event in Yerevan, undated.
Turkey will not stop linking the normalization of its relations
with Armenia to a Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, a retired Turkish
army general who was involved in Turkish-Armenian reconciliation
initiatives said on Thursday.
In an interview with RFE/RL’s Armenian service in Yerevan, Sadi
Erguvenc acknowledged that chances for the implementation of the
Turkish-Armenian normalization protocols are very slim at the moment.
"The situation does not seem to be promising," he said.
Turkish leaders have repeatedly stated that Turkey’s parliament will
not ratify the U.S.-brokered protocols until a breakthrough in the
long-running Armenian-Azerbaijani peace talks. A leading member of
the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) reaffirmed this stance
during a recent visit to Yerevan.
"It may not look rational from the Armenian point of view, but Turkey
values highly its relations with Azerbaijan," said Erguvenc. "That
can not change easily without having a solution to the Karabakh issue."
"You just can’t deny the Azeris the support that they deserve in our
view," he said. "Their country is occupied to a considerable extent.
Quite a number of people are suffering from this situation. So,
of course, we feel committed to support them."
Asked whether Ankara could drop the Karabakh linkage, rejected by
Yerevan, anytime soon, Erguvenc replied: "I don’t think so." This
policy enjoys strong public support in Turkey, he said.
Armenia — Armenian and Turkish media professionals and retired state
officials meet in Yerevan, 25 March 2010.The retired air force general
spoke to RFE/RL on the sidelines of a Turkish-Armenian seminar held
in Yerevan by the Eurasia Partnership Foundation in collaboration
with the Global Political Trends Center (GPoT), an Istanbul-based
think-tank. The two-day event brought together former government
officials and prominent media figures from the two neighboring
countries.
Erguvenc, who currently sits on GPoT’s advisory board, had headed
the intelligence department at Turkey’s powerful National Security
Council and a planning division at the Turkish army’s General Staff
before retiring from the military in 1992. He was also a member of the
former Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission (TARC), a panel of
retired diplomats and public figures that was set up in 2001 at the
U.S. State Department’s initiative. TARC repeatedly called for the
unconditional establishment of diplomatic relations between the two
states and opening of their border before being disbanded in 2004.
Erguvenc insisted that the Turkish-Armenian normalization process
has not failed and will eventually end in success if both sides stay
"forward-looking." "At least, the Turkish government is very much
interested in remaining on the positive track," he said. "They have
a declared policy of ‘zero problems’ with neighbors and they want to
stick to it."
"An opening in the Karabakh question would improve the situation
tremendously," he added.
Yalim Eralp, a retired Turkish ambassador also attending the Yerevan
seminar, similarly stressed the importance of Karabakh peace for the
Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. "When you get a new friend, you can’t
lose an old one," he said.
Armenian leaders argue that neither protocol makes any mention of
the Karabakh conflict and that both agreements should therefore be
ratified unconditionally. The United States and the European Union
have likewise urged the Turks to honor the deal "without preconditions
and within a reasonable timeframe."
"Turkey places its relations with Azerbaijan above Turkish-Armenian
relations," David Hovannisian, a retired Armenian ambassador and
another former TARC member, complained during the discussion.
Hovannisian also made the point that the publics in Armenia and
Turkey are "much more prepared for the normalization" than the two
governments.
Eralp seemed to agree, saying that both civil societies should
continue to "press" their governments. "But we have to use that
pressure cleverly," he cautioned.
e/1993891.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
