Think tank faults Turkish approach on Armenia ties

[Migman]

Fri May 29, 2009 12:02pm EDT
By Ayla Jean Yackley

ISTANBUL, May 29 (*******) - Turkey is making a mistake by linking an improvement in ties with Armenia, including reopening their shared border, to a settlement of Armenia's long-running conflict with Azerbaijan, a think tank report said on Friday.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said this month that the border would remain shut until Armenia withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave it has controlled since it fought a war with Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.

His comments highlighted the seriousness of the Karabakh problem for Turkey, despite the announcement last month of a joint Turkish-Armenian "road map" towards re-establishing diplomatic ties and opening the border.

"Tying the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement to the Karabakh issue, which won't be resolved for a long time, is a great mistake, because Turkey's policy of punishing Armenia has yet to yield the results it wants," said Aybars Gorgulu, co-author of the report for the Istanbul-based Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation.

"Normalisation appears indexed to resolving the Karabakh issue, making it the most serious obstacle, even if the issue is not part of the bilateral talks."

Turkey shut the border in 1993 in a show of support for Azerbaijan, its traditional Muslim ally. Its continued closure has hampered Armenia's economy and is one of many factors complicating Turkey's bid to join the European Union.

Gorgulu said Erdogan's latest comments -- made after a meeting with Azerbaijan's president -- "negatively impact the rapprochement" with Armenia.

Turkey's lack of diplomatic relations with Armenia has so far failed to help Azerbaijan reclaim its territory, although normalisation is also unlikely to bring about a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Gorgulu said.

Alexander Iskandaryan, his co-author, said it would be Russia that played the decisive role in settling the dispute, as it still wielded influence over Armenia and Azerbaijan, both former Soviet republics. The United States and France are also involved in diplomacy on the issue.

Armenia and Turkey trace their dispute to massacres of ethnic Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One. Armenia says these amounted to genocide, which Turkey denies.

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http://www.*******.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSLT1010952

[Excalibur]

Armenia and Turkey trace their dispute to massacres of ethnic Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One. Armenia says these amounted to genocide, which Turkey denies.i don't think there is any chance for any kind of normalization between turkey and armenia unless turkey recognizes this historical fact.

[Ulytau]

i don't think there is any chance for any kind of normalization between turkey and armenia unless turkey recognizes this historical fact.


Whore write that wrote that too


and i always was under impression that turkey is the best friend of azerbaijan. now it seems that turkey is ready to sell even closest friends to enemies for his own interests.
loosing strong ally like turkey means that azerbaijan will seek alternatives, perhaps russia or iran, but both of them already have close relationship with armenia. very tricky situation for azerbaijan.

[Excalibur]

so, where you see conflict between two.
perhaps turkey is ready to sell everyone and everything, but armenia will never accept normalization with turkey unless armenian genocide is recognized by turkey, officially and publicly.
as the article in the original post suggests turkeys policy towards both post soviet republics leads to losing both of them.

[turan8]

so, where you see conflict between two.
perhaps turkey is ready to sell everyone and everything, but armenia will never accept normalization with turkey unless armenian genocide is recognized by turkey, officially and publicly.
as the article in the original post suggests turkeys policy towards both post soviet republics leads to losing both of them.

We can't make a false a truth. This is why your approach won't work.

Too many Turkish families were killed by Armenians for Turkey to recognize this.

HOWEVER, in this century, I believe some kind of dialogue is possible and preferable to nothing at all.

Right now we have no influence on the Armenian diaspora and their lies spreading, only if we engage Armenia itself and create economic links and academic links, can we show them the truth as well as the advantages to having a diversified trading economy.

I feel sympathy for Azerbaijan and NK is rightfully theirs, but IMHO Turkey should leverage it's strengths to broker a deal between the two--not play favorites.

If there is peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the whole region will benefit, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, etc...