DEPUTY SAYS NEW PROPOSAL ON TABLE IN ARMENIA TALKS

Today’s Zaman
May 21 2010
Turkey

A senior Turkish official has said there is a â~@~brilliant
proposalâ~@~] for Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and that it is up
to Armenia to accept or reject it.

Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman for
External Affairs Suat KınıklıoÄ~_l u spoke about Turkish-Armenian
reconciliation at a panel discussion in Washington on Wednesday where
he said the two sides had agreed to â~@~remain silentâ~@~] for some
time and evaluate â~@~what is on the table.â~@~] The Middle East
Instituteâ~@~Ys Center for Turkish Studies hosted KınıklıoÄ~_l u, who
is also chairman of the Turkish-American Interparliamentary Friendship
Group, for a discussion on Turkeyâ~@~Ys neighborhood policy and its
influence in and implications for the Middle East.

â~@~There is something new on the table. Although I cannot go into
the details, there is a brilliant proposal on the table, and it is
up to the Armenians to accept or reject it,â~@~] KınıklıoÄ~_l u
stated. Noting that the achieving Turkish-Armenian reconciliation
is an important issue at the moment, KınıklıoÄ~_l u said he would
personally vote â~@~yesâ~@~] on the Armenian protocols because he
is in favor of normalizing relations. He said he believes this move
has the potential to transform the South Caucasus and make it a part
of Europe.

Turkey and Armenia sealed twin â~@~agree-to-disagreeâ~@~] protocols
last October — currently at a standstill — to transform persistent
animosity into lasting amity. A chain of negative developments and
Azerbaijanâ~@~Ys strident opposition to the protocols have made the
reconciliation roadmap a thorny document.

Underscoring that the normalization will come into being through the
political will of both Turks and Armenians, the senior official said
it would not work if they wait for outside actors to solve their
problems. â~@~And this is not realistic,â~@~] he added.

Speaking about the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, KınıklıoÄ~_l u pointed
to the occupation by Armenia of the territories of Azerbaijan, a member
of the Council of Europe, and said Turkish-Armenian normalization
cannot take place at a bilateral level as there is an â~@~abnormal
situationâ~@~] called Karabakh in their neighborhood. Underlining
that resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is not a precondition and
that reconciliation and the Karabakh dispute are parallel processes
generating support for each other, KınıklıoÄ~_l u said this view
benefits Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.