| Ankara felt increased pressure this week to open the Turkish-Armenian border through the efforts of both Washington officially asking Ankara to open the border and Armenian efforts to put the issue on the European Union’s agenda with Turkey.
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried said that he personally conveyed that message to Turkish officials during his visit to Ankara earlier this month as a part of Caucasian state tour which included also Armenia and Azerbaijan. “We hope, but also anticipate, that a solution on Nagorno-Karabakh will result in an open border with Turkey, which is a consistent goal on our agenda with Ankara,” he said in a speech at the Armenian Assembly of America National Conference Monday in Washington. “I made this point with the Turkish government that we want the border open, and we want it open as soon as possible.”
Underlining that the U.S. government wants to see greater economic integration between all the states of the Caucasus — “We push this regularly” — Fried continued. “We would like ‘to see greater integration. Now it is difficult in advance of a Nagorno Karabakh solution, but we keep raising it, and we will keep raising it. It’s good not only for Armenia; it would be good for Turkey and Azerbaijan as well.”
Armenia: A possible energy route
On the energy security issue, Ambassador Fried explained that he had intense discussion in Ankara about the possibility of gas and oil flowing through Armenia. Recalling the disruptions of electricity and gas to Georgia in January, which also affected Armenia, he said, “After this episode, we’re looking at ways to bolster energy security in the region and strengthen Armenia’s energy independence. We will continue to work to see to it that Armenia is not vulnerable, particularly on energy issues. And I did have explicit discussions in Ankara about a future in which Armenia, in which gas and oil flowed freely through Armenia from die Caspian without political hindrance, so we are beginning this dialogue.”
“Real problem is Iran’
Touching on the existing strategic cooperation of Armenia with Russia, Fried reiterated that the U.S. government supported Armenia’s efforts to strengthen its relations with the Euro-Atlantic community, “Armenia has a policy of complementarily, which means roughly balance in its relations with the West and the Russians” he said. “This is not a problem for us. We don’t want to force Armenia to choose between its historic friends and its Western identity, but we do want our relations to grow.”
Ambassador Fried also told the audience about his contacts in Azerbaijan, as a part of his Caucasus tour earlier this month. “When I was in Baku 1 repeated that Azerbaijan’s security problem really doesn’t come from Armenia, it comes from other countries,” he said. “It’s got a rough neighbor to the south, Iran. And it’s on the Caspian Sea with a lot of oil and gas. Our security cooperation with and assistance to Azerbaijan is meant to improve Azerbaijan’s posture against those threats, not against Armenia.”
So-called genocide
Answering questions, Ambassador Fried touched also the so-called Armenian genocide issue by underlining that “the US. Position on events of 1915 has not changed.” Refraining from using the g-word which could create serious problems between Ankara and Washington due to the sensitivity of the issue, Fried suggested “a productive dialogue” as the best way to establish a shared understanding of history, between Turkey and Armenia.
“We want to foster reconciliation and peace based on an understanding’ of history, not a denial of it,” he said. “We believe that the tragedy of 1915, the killings, is of enormous human significance and its historical assessment should be determined not on the basis of politics, but introspection among civic leaders and scholars. This process has begun in Turkey where it needs to take place,” Ambassador Fried gave the example of famous Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk who earlier talked in a way different than Turkish state’s rhetoric about the so-called genocide issue. “You recall that the famous Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk spoke clearly about this. He is not the only Turk speaking out. As I said, this process has begun as Turkish society modernizes, and as it modernizes, as democracy in Turkey deepens, Turkey will have to go through what many other countries such as the United States have had to go through in our own history, which is looking back at the darker spots in our past,” Fried added.
Fried also ended speculations about the recalling of John Evans, the U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, back to Washington due to his speech in which he described the 1915 events as “genocide.” “Sitting here with us is my old friend John Evans, our ambassador in Yerevan,” he said. “He is the ambassador, remains the ambassador.”
Armenia ties border hopes to Turkey’s EU process
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, on the other hand, expressed Yerevan’s hope that Turkey will be pressured by the European Union to open its border with Armenia during the EU membership process.
Oskanian made the remarks at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday following his contacts in the US.
Underlining that Armenia has no preconditions for the opening of the border, Oskanian said, “The Turkish-Armenian border is the only dosed border gate in Europe. We hope Turkey will be pressured to open it during its bid to join the bloc.”
Turkey is considering reopening f its border with Armenia on the condition that Yerevan commits to a partial pullout from the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and within the process of normalization of relations between Ankara and Yerevan. Ankara seeks a withdrawal from four regions in Nagorno-Karabakh and believes that such a move can facilitate a comprehensive agreement between Yerevan and the Azeri capital Baku.
Touching on the Armenian genocide claims, Oskanian said that his country doesn’t want any discussions on his country’s thesis. In a move to lash out at Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s proposal to establish a joint commission composed of Armenian and Turkish historians to study the genocide claims, Oskanian said, “Erdogan’s suggestion aims to give Europe the impression that Turkey is ‘on trail’ in this issue.”
31.03.2006/The New Anatolian/Ankara-Washington |
Akgün Medya