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BACK DOOR TALKS BETWEEN TURKEY, ARMENIA CONTINUE
Hurriye
Sept 17 2008
Turkey
The behind the scenes diplomacy between Ankara and Yerevan, which set
the ground for President Abdullah Gul's landmark visit to Armenia,
continues this week in Switzerland with its third round between the
two countries' top diplomats, the Turkish Daily News (TDN) reported
on Wednesday.
Diplomats will try to finalize a draft for the common declaration of
good will in the wake of a tripartite summit between Turkey, Armenia
and Azerbaijan to take place in New York at the end of September,
the report said.
Undersecretary of the foreign ministry, Ertugrul Apakan, and his
deputy, Unal Cevikoz, headed for Switzerland on Sunday to meet their
counterparts in Bern, which already hosted two rounds of talks in
May and July, it added.
The positive atmosphere flourished after the first-ever meeting of
Gul and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan on the margins of the
football match on Sept. 6 which paved the way for a more comprehensive
discussion on substantial issues.
Diplomats will try to reach a compromise on a common language for
reflection upon the developments fortified with Gul's visit and the
football match between the two national teams.
Turkey is among the first countries that recognized Armenia when it
declared its independency in the early 1990s. However there is no
diplomatic relations between two countries, as Armenia presses the
international community to admit the so-called "genocide" claims
instead of accepting Turkey's call to investigate the allegations,
and its invasion of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory despite
U.N. Security Council resolutions on the issue.
Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million
of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915. Turkey
rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along with at least
as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when Armenians took
up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
In 2005, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan took a first step
towards resolving the issue by proposing that a joint commission of
historians launch an investigation and publish their conclusions,
but the proposal was rejected by Yerevan.
DECLARATION TO BE ANNOUNCED IN NEW YORK
The declaration is to be announced at the meeting of Foreign Minister
Ali Babacan and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, which
is expected to the take place during the U.N General Assembly in New
York being held Sept.23 to Oct.1.
Diplomatic sources told the TDN Armenia now moves closer to giving a
green light for a joint committee of historians to study the events
of 1915, a long-standing Turkish proposal categorically rejected by
the former Armenian President Robert Kocharian.
Considering the need to establish a mechanism for verification of
documents in archives, together with choosing the members, preparations
are expected to take at least one year which gives Turkey time on
international platforms.
Participation of experts from third-party countries and a
representative from an international institution are also under
discussion.
"Official announcement for the establishment of a committee would
ease Turkey's position, culminating in alleged genocide resolutions
in many countries," a senior Turkish official told the TDN, referring
to initiatives in countries including the U.S., Canada, France and
Argentina.
Combined efforts are underway for setting up other committees to
work on economic and cultural affairs to accelerate the normalization
of relations.
Armenian expectations for the opening of the sealed border between
the two countries loomed large especially after the outbreak of crisis
in Georgia, which has been the major gateway for Western markets from
Armenia. However, Ankara waits for simultaneous steps on other fronts
in order to further proceed with the opening of the border.
Hurriye
Sept 17 2008
Turkey
The behind the scenes diplomacy between Ankara and Yerevan, which set
the ground for President Abdullah Gul's landmark visit to Armenia,
continues this week in Switzerland with its third round between the
two countries' top diplomats, the Turkish Daily News (TDN) reported
on Wednesday.
Diplomats will try to finalize a draft for the common declaration of
good will in the wake of a tripartite summit between Turkey, Armenia
and Azerbaijan to take place in New York at the end of September,
the report said.
Undersecretary of the foreign ministry, Ertugrul Apakan, and his
deputy, Unal Cevikoz, headed for Switzerland on Sunday to meet their
counterparts in Bern, which already hosted two rounds of talks in
May and July, it added.
The positive atmosphere flourished after the first-ever meeting of
Gul and his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan on the margins of the
football match on Sept. 6 which paved the way for a more comprehensive
discussion on substantial issues.
Diplomats will try to reach a compromise on a common language for
reflection upon the developments fortified with Gul's visit and the
football match between the two national teams.
Turkey is among the first countries that recognized Armenia when it
declared its independency in the early 1990s. However there is no
diplomatic relations between two countries, as Armenia presses the
international community to admit the so-called "genocide" claims
instead of accepting Turkey's call to investigate the allegations,
and its invasion of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory despite
U.N. Security Council resolutions on the issue.
Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million
of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915. Turkey
rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along with at least
as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when Armenians took
up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.
In 2005, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan took a first step
towards resolving the issue by proposing that a joint commission of
historians launch an investigation and publish their conclusions,
but the proposal was rejected by Yerevan.
DECLARATION TO BE ANNOUNCED IN NEW YORK
The declaration is to be announced at the meeting of Foreign Minister
Ali Babacan and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, which
is expected to the take place during the U.N General Assembly in New
York being held Sept.23 to Oct.1.
Diplomatic sources told the TDN Armenia now moves closer to giving a
green light for a joint committee of historians to study the events
of 1915, a long-standing Turkish proposal categorically rejected by
the former Armenian President Robert Kocharian.
Considering the need to establish a mechanism for verification of
documents in archives, together with choosing the members, preparations
are expected to take at least one year which gives Turkey time on
international platforms.
Participation of experts from third-party countries and a
representative from an international institution are also under
discussion.
"Official announcement for the establishment of a committee would
ease Turkey's position, culminating in alleged genocide resolutions
in many countries," a senior Turkish official told the TDN, referring
to initiatives in countries including the U.S., Canada, France and
Argentina.
Combined efforts are underway for setting up other committees to
work on economic and cultural affairs to accelerate the normalization
of relations.
Armenian expectations for the opening of the sealed border between
the two countries loomed large especially after the outbreak of crisis
in Georgia, which has been the major gateway for Western markets from
Armenia. However, Ankara waits for simultaneous steps on other fronts
in order to further proceed with the opening of the border.