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 Despite the foreign policy projections of 2001 that Turkey would put weight on the forming of diplomatic contacts with Armenia (but not diplomatic relations), the efforts for launching a dialogue between Yerevan and Ankara have failed.
The dialogue mechanism between the journalists of Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia remain as the sole path for the continuation of the person-to-person dialogue between the two countries.
The Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Committee (TARC) had to cease its mission due to a statement from the Armenian side.
TARC’s Armenian members had declared that they would not attend the commission works on Dec. 12.
Armenian members of the TARC, Alexander Arzumanyan, Van Krikoryan, David Hovenasyon and Andranik Mihranyan, signed a declaration stating that they would not attend the commission meetings.
The declaration said that their belief in the normalization of ties between Turkey and Armenia was continuing.
Following the statement made by the Armenian side, the commission, which was a historical step for the improvement of the ties between Turkey and Armenia, halted its work.
The TARC process in the year 2001, which was being evaluated as a product of the resolution processes in western parliaments by a foreign diplomat involved in Turkish-Armenian relations, has had to be stopped as the nationalists of the two sides were not involved in the reconciliation process.
Taking lessons from the past processes, it was stated that all sides of the societies should be expressing concerns, and everything should be put on the table, without avoiding discussing the existing problems between the two states.
Within the framework of Washington’s efforts to encourage ties between Turkey and Armenia, U.S. Ambassador in Yerevan John Ordway was quoted as saying recently by the Anatolia news agency that the border between Turkey and Armenia, as well as the one between Azerbaijan and Armenia, should be opened for the improvement of the economy of the region.
Michael Lemmon, the former U.S. ambassador in Yerevan, has been acting as Turkish Ambassador in Yerevan and Armenian Ambassador in Turkey, with his efforts to help the development of the relationships between the two states are being considered.
TABDC urges the opening of the border gate
In a press release signed jointly by the Turkish and Armenian co-chairmen of the Turkish Armenian Business Development Council (TABDC), hope was expressed for the fifth year of the Turkish-Armenian dialogue process, and urged the necessity of the opening of the border gate between Turkey and Armenia.
“For many years, Armenians and Turks of good will have been advocating the wisdom of cooperation. What has been achieved so far gives us hope and strength for the future. We believe that there is still a pressing need to cultivate direct ties and that there is much room for collaboration,” said the statement.
“We are convinced that the two separate processes of diplomatic rapprochement and civil initiatives must go hand in hand. At the beginning of the new year we want to stress the need for interstate relations and intergovernmental communication,” it said.
Dialogue and interaction between public organizations and business associations are a prerequisite for establishing mutual understanding, handling sensitive issues, and achieving prosperity in our region, it continued.
“From our five years of experience, we have learned that there is no obstacle for Turks and Armenians to start talking and collaborating. The closed border is the only barrier preventing us from intensifying our business and human relations. A closed border that separates us makes no sense. We can foresee the great potential benefits to be realized by Armenia and Turkey,” it said.
SAADET ORUC
Ankara – Turkish Daily News |
Akgün Medya