Presidential guards preparing for Yerevan mission

Zaman 28.08.2008

Turkish officials have been tightlipped over whether President Abdullah Gül will accept an invitation from his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarksyan, to visit Armenia to watch a game between the two countries’ national soccer teams, but the president’s elite bodyguard team is preparing for a possible Yerevan mission.

The Presidential Security Directorate, the body in charge of protecting the president, has been busy preparing for Gül’s visit to Armenia in case the president accepts Sarksyan’s invitation, sources told Today’s Zaman. Plans include a dispatch of a 15-member counterattack team to Armenia over the weekend as a forward unit. Officials at the Foreign Ministry said there are no official plans to send a security team to Armenia at the moment.

Gül has declined to comment on whether he will accept the invitation, a landmark move that would break the ice between the estranged neighbors. “We are still considering it. What is important is whether such a visit will be useful or not,” Gül said in televised remarks yesterday.

Turkey severed its diplomatic ties and closed its border gate with landlocked Armenia in the early 1990s in protest of the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the official Turkish policy, normalization in ties depends on the Armenian withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh, a reversal of Armenia’s policy to support its diaspora’s efforts for worldwide recognition of Armenian claims of genocide at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire and official recognition by Yerevan of the current Turkish-Armenian border.

There has been no change in the Armenian stance in any of these areas, but prospects emerged recently for a thaw in relations. Turkish and Armenian diplomats have been holding secret talks on the normalization of ties and Sarksyan, following a message from Gül to congratulate him for his election as president earlier this year, invited Gül to Yerevan to watch the World Cup qualifying game between the national teams on Sept. 6. While observers say it would be a good step that would also help Turkey restore its influence in the Caucasus, critics like the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) say Armenia has done nothing to deserve such a top-level gesture and warn against offending regional ally Azerbaijan.

Security is another concern. Mindful that the president could go to Armenia with a last-minute decision, the Presidential Security Directorate and the police have been reviewing preparations for a possible visit. The plans include a dispatch of the 15-member team to discuss in detail with Armenian security officials preparations for Gül’s visit.

According to current plans, a group from the counterattack team, armed with M5 and M16 rifles, will be responsible for Gül’s security during the visit. High security measures are expected to be taken at Razdan Stadium, where the game will take place. Armenian police will be in charge of securing the roads Gül will use during his stay in Yerevan

SEDAT GÜNEÇ  ANKARA
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