Armenia and Turkey's "Historic Deal," One Year Later

[SpArK]

Armenia and Turkey's "Historic Deal," One Year Later​

Just over a year ago, on October 11, 2009, Armenia and Turkey agreed to put their longtime animosity aside and work to reopen their borders. World leaders called it a beautiful day for peace and harmony. The jubilation didn't last for long.

Today, everything is essentially back to square one. Neither country’s legislature has followed through on the reconciliation protocols. Armenia accuses Turkey of hypocrisy, failure to own up to Ottoman Turkey's 1915 massacre of ethnic Armenians and undermining the deal by looping the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict into the reconciliation talks. Turkey calls on Armenia to refer the genocide issue to historians, and, in deference to ally Azerbaijan, insists on movement toward a Karabakh resolution.

Nor is there much chance for change. In a Wall St. Journal op-ed, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian called on Turkey to prove its willingness to make peace. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has advised the Armenians not to shut the door on the protocols and to stop blaming Turkey.

Meanwhile, the international community, not known for its attention span, has long moved on to other matters. For now, the Turkey-Armenia predicament does not seem to merit more than an occasional line about commitment to resolution of the issue.


Armenia and Turkey's "Historic Deal," One Year Later | EurasiaNet.org

 

[SpArK]

Washington Says it Remains Committed to Turkey-Armenia process​

13.10.10 | 15:02

The United States remains committed to the process of Armenian-Turkish normalization, according to a senior Department of State official.

At a press briefing in Washington on Tuesday Assistant Secretary of State Philip J. Crowley covered a broad range of issues concerning international affairs and briefly touched upon Armenia-Turkey relations following a media question.

Asked whether the United States, one of the major international sponsors of the currently stalled Turkey-Armenia rapprochement, was “still working with the sides”, including “with the Azerbaijani counterparts because there are obviously some objection from Azerbaijan?”, Crowley said:

“We remain committed to resolving these issues. It was something that Secretary Clinton discussed last month at the UN with a wide range of leaders, and we remain committed to it.”

The State Department official did not elaborate.

Full questions and answers from Crowley’s briefing are available here: State Department Briefing by Phillip J. Crowley, October 12, 2010

In an internationally backed rapprochement effort Armenia and Turkey signed diplomatic protocols in October 2009 aiming to normalize their historically strained relations and open the border that has remained closed since 1993.

The protocols, however, have not been ratified by the two countries’ parliaments to date.

Official Yerevan suspended the process in the Armenian legislature after what it said were repeated attempts of Ankara to link the normalization process with a separate dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia urges Turkey to move forward with the deal without preconditions and insists that the international community, including the United States, largely shares this view.

Officials in Ankara, meanwhile, have repeatedly indicated that they will, by all means, consider the position of regional ally Azerbaijan, which wants to reestablish control over de-facto independent Karabakh that was governed from Baku during the Soviet era, but broke free following the Soviet Union’s collapse.



Washington Says it Remains Committed to Turkey-Armenia process - News | ArmeniaNow.com

 

[Nahraf]

The Turkey-Armenia agreement was a huge mistake for Turkey duped by Russian and Western powers. Turkey realized that it was designed to cut off Turkey from ethnic kin Azerbaijan while promising vague study for WW I events. Turkey closed border with Armenia in protest to Armenia's illegal occupation of Nagorno Karabagh region of Azerbaijan. The liberation of Nagorno Karabagh must takes first before any agreement with Turkey and Armenia.

 

[somebozo]

1915 massacres are gone with the ottoman empire. The new turkey has nothing to do with them!

 

[TrMhMt]

The Turkey-Armenia agreement was a huge mistake for Turkey duped by Russian and Western powers. Turkey realized that it was designed to cut off Turkey from ethnic kin Azerbaijan while promising vague study for WW I events. Turkey closed border with Armenia in protest to Armenia's illegal occupation of Nagorno Karabagh region of Azerbaijan. The liberation of Nagorno Karabagh must takes first before any agreement with Turkey and Armenia.

You are right bro. This is stupid Erdogan's bullshit politics...

 

[Saithan]

Whether there was a genocide or not is up to the historians, and the sources available. Please note that the archives in turkey from the ottomans period are open and available. The same cannot be said about the archives in Armenia. Which is why everyone commenting on the issue should keep that in mind.

Reconciliating with our neighbours is natural, and linking the peace or reconciliation proces with other events is like a "carrot" if you can say that.

It is a fact that Armenia invaded and violates territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and our brother country is already acquiring more military weaponry with some of the oil money.

The unfortunate part is that Armenia has signed a defense treaty with Russia, if I recall correctly.

New Russian-Armenian Defense Pact 'Finalized'

 

[Tayyab1796]

West always talks about Armenia and 'genocide' BS but they don't talk about Turkish sufferings . Even if Ottomans did it, now a century later I think Ottomans did the right thing.

 

[Saithan]

That is arguable, but what we know now is that the incident that took place long time ago is a good political card to be played by nations.

If you ask me, Turkey uses a lot of ressources to prevent the countries all over the world from making a stupid political mistake.

Sometimes I'm tempted to say, "let them do what they want, we'll know their stance once they either pass it or reject it."

There is no deadline on this, so it keeps coming back to haunt Turkey. In short it's annoying, it's better to let them pass it so we know whether they're "friends" or "foes".

We have a saying in turkish, "Eski düsman dost olmaz".

 

[damm1t]

You may get angry with me but sometimes i think that if there was a genocide even it could be complete. Ancestors could kill them all, a real genocide. Thus today noone could talk about this issue. and the world could be better without a puppet nation, a nation without honor.
But u know what.. We are not a such nation and thats why now we are facing this idiotic accusations.

We helped Kurds against Saddam and now they are our biggest problem. Ottomans helped armenians live in the borders of empire with equal rights, but in the first chance they got, they betrayed to Ottomans.
We are the first muslim country which recognized Israel as a state.. Now their army trains PKK terrorists in the mountains.

We have to draw our lines and stay in that circle, we must show our side to everyone. Why we have to be seem like the most compatible country with others? Eveybody betrays us when we turn our face to other side. Zero problem with neighboors policy is a bullsht.

If you dont want problem, you have to be stronger than your neighbors. Much important you have to be stronger than other countries which support your neighbors. ( look: Armenia - Russia )

 

[somebozo]

Its simple..turkey is not ottoman kingdom..have the japanese appoligised to chinese?? Or american appologise to japanese for nuking them?? Or the german appologising to austria, poland, finland, sweden etc etc..or the russians appoligising to afghans??

What would be more idiotic is expecting turkey to recognise anything as far as 1915 in past...otherwise the germans would also come to claim third reich and russians should claim alaska!