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Radio Free Europe, Czech Rep.
May 26 2005
German Opposition Leader Wants Turkey To Improve Ties With Armenia
26/05/2005 20:47
Germany's top opposition leader who is tipped to defeat Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder in upcoming parliamentary elections urged Turkey on
Thursday to improve its strained relations with Armenia before
starting accession talks with the European Union.
Reuters news agency quoted Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader
Angela Merkel as saying that "time is ripe" for Turkey to establish
direct relations with Armenia. She said the Turkish government should
also clarify its stance on Cyprus before the start of the accession
talks on October 3.
It was not clear if Merkel, whose party will challenge Schroeder's
Social Democrats in early polls expected this September, wants Ankara
to drop its preconditions for establishing diplomatic relations with
Yerevan and reopening the Turkish-Armenian border.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated earlier this
month that his government will do so only if the Armenians return
Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan and stop campaigning for international
recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide.
The CDU, which is strongly opposed to Turkish membership in the EU,
is the main sponsor of a draft resolution by the German parliament,
the Bundestag, that calls on Turkey to "take historic responsibility"
for the `planned' mass killings and deportations between 1.2 and 1.5
million Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire. It says Germany,
Ottoman Turkey's main ally in the First World War, also bears
responsibility for the massacres.
Although the declaration, which is expected to be formally adopted by
the Bundestag next month, stops short of calling the mass killings a
genocide, it has been strongly condemned by Ankara. In a statement
last February, Turkey's ambassador to Germany accused the CDU of
acting as a "spokesman for fanatical Armenian nationalism."
Turkey's EU membership bid is supported by the current German
chancellor and his party. The CDU, however, favors of a looser
"privileged partnership" with the Turks. This position appears to
reflect public opinion in Germany.
The prospect of Turkish entry into the affluent bloc is also
exploited by French opponents of the EU constitution. Among them are
some members of France's 450,000-strong Armenian community who
believe that the constitution's rejection at a referendum on Sunday
will shut the EU door to Turkey.
Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian sought to disprove such
arguments on Thursday, urging French voters of Armenian origin to
back the constitution. "The French "yes" will further strengthen
France's position on the European arena, which will also be
advantageous for us, since France has always supported an
international discussion of Armenian questions," Oskanian said.
May 26 2005
German Opposition Leader Wants Turkey To Improve Ties With Armenia
26/05/2005 20:47
Germany's top opposition leader who is tipped to defeat Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder in upcoming parliamentary elections urged Turkey on
Thursday to improve its strained relations with Armenia before
starting accession talks with the European Union.
Reuters news agency quoted Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader
Angela Merkel as saying that "time is ripe" for Turkey to establish
direct relations with Armenia. She said the Turkish government should
also clarify its stance on Cyprus before the start of the accession
talks on October 3.
It was not clear if Merkel, whose party will challenge Schroeder's
Social Democrats in early polls expected this September, wants Ankara
to drop its preconditions for establishing diplomatic relations with
Yerevan and reopening the Turkish-Armenian border.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated earlier this
month that his government will do so only if the Armenians return
Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan and stop campaigning for international
recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide.
The CDU, which is strongly opposed to Turkish membership in the EU,
is the main sponsor of a draft resolution by the German parliament,
the Bundestag, that calls on Turkey to "take historic responsibility"
for the `planned' mass killings and deportations between 1.2 and 1.5
million Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire. It says Germany,
Ottoman Turkey's main ally in the First World War, also bears
responsibility for the massacres.
Although the declaration, which is expected to be formally adopted by
the Bundestag next month, stops short of calling the mass killings a
genocide, it has been strongly condemned by Ankara. In a statement
last February, Turkey's ambassador to Germany accused the CDU of
acting as a "spokesman for fanatical Armenian nationalism."
Turkey's EU membership bid is supported by the current German
chancellor and his party. The CDU, however, favors of a looser
"privileged partnership" with the Turks. This position appears to
reflect public opinion in Germany.
The prospect of Turkish entry into the affluent bloc is also
exploited by French opponents of the EU constitution. Among them are
some members of France's 450,000-strong Armenian community who
believe that the constitution's rejection at a referendum on Sunday
will shut the EU door to Turkey.
Armenia's Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian sought to disprove such
arguments on Thursday, urging French voters of Armenian origin to
back the constitution. "The French "yes" will further strengthen
France's position on the European arena, which will also be
advantageous for us, since France has always supported an
international discussion of Armenian questions," Oskanian said.