DEUTSCHE WELLE: ARMENIAN-TURKISH "FOOTBALL DIPLOMACY" THREATENED
News.am
13:29 / 08/19/2009
Armenia-Turkey rapprochement encountered an obstacle in the form
of preconditions. The arrival of Armenian President to Turkey
for World Cup qualifying match is a landmark in Armenian-Turkish
relations. However the visit might be called off.
The source reminds that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan stated he
would go to Turkey if the Armenian-Turkish border opens or is in the
"threshold of unblocking", concluding that well-publicized "football
democracy" is threatened.
However Turkey too seems to be unready to give up on preconditions,
particularly on those connected with Armenian-Turkish relations’
settlement. One of the main preconditions is Yerevan’s refusal to
demand Turkey to recognize Genocide. The second one – Armenia should
recognize the current borders. And the crucial one – is Ankara’s
demand to Yerevan to settle Karabakh problem in favour of Baku.
Today many Armenian politicians consider that Yerevan should not refuse
preconditions so that the negotiations progress. Gideon Dewhirst,
the Deputy Head of Mission at the UK Embassy in Armenia, considers
that if Sargsyan goes to Turkey the situation will be deadlocked:
"Armenia expected prompt developments this summer, that however did not
happen. If there is no breakthrough it would be a lost opportunity,
that might lead to stagnation of bilateral relations’ settlement,"
Dewhirst said.