DECADE OF CONFIDENCE BUILDING PROCEEDING PROTOCOLS’ SIGNING COULD BE LOST: FREIZER
news.am
April 28 2010
Armenia
NEWS.am posts the article "Turkey and Armenia: Focusing on the
possible, not hoping for the best" by Crisis Group’s Europe Program
Director in Global Post Sabine Freizer, published in Turkish Zaman
daily.
"Last week’s announcement that the Armenian parliament is suspending
its consideration of the twin protocols signed by the Turkish
and Armenian presidents in October 2009 is another blow to the
Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process. But it also may be an
opportunity to focus on the possible, rather than hope for the best,
in improving Turkish-Armenian relations," the source says.
"The protocols aimed to establish diplomatic relations between Turkey
and Armenia, recognize and open their mutual border and set up a joint
historical commission. The last two steps cannot happen in the near
future. So it is time for the leadership in Ankara and Yerevan to focus
clearly on the first two. In the past 18 months high-level officials
from both countries have met an extraordinary number of times. At
a minimum, that relationship should now be formalized to benefit
average citizens in need of basic consular services," the daily reads.
"The decade of confidence building that preceded the Turkey-Armenian
protocol signing could now to be lost. Instead, the best step
right now would be for Ankara and Yerevan to put aside the most
difficult aspects of the protocols but move ahead with their less
controversial parts. Despite current troubles, they could proceed
with the establishment of diplomatic ties and recognition of their
mutual border. These need no parliamentary approval, are purely
about bilateral relations and are not linked to Nagorno-Karabakh,"
the daily reports.
"Even in the current difficult diplomatic climate, the leaders of
Turkey and Armenia can and should take these initial steps to ensure
that their people can build up a prosperous future side-by-side and
eventually come to terms with their shared traumatic history," the
daily concludes.