Signing of historical protocols between Turkey and Armenia delayed

The photograph for this article was changed on Oct. 12, 2009.

The signing of Turkish-Armenian protocols has been delayed at the last minute over the wording of final statements the parties will make, it has been revealed.

 Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, were expected to sign protocols intended to normalize relations between the two countries in Zurich at 6 p.m. The ceremony was scheduled to take place at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, where Davutoğlu was received by Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey earlier.

 Both, Davutoğlu and his Swiss counterpart were present in the salon of the university. However, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian were absent, opening the way for speculation that Clinton was trying to convince the Armenian minister to attend the ceremony.

News reports said Clinton has abruptly returned to her hotel as the signing of the Turkish-Armenian accords was delayed at the last minute over the wording of final statements. The crisis stemmed from the two parties', Turkey and Armenia, attempts to interfere in the statements, it was reported.

According to the speculation, Nalbandian wanted to refer in the statement to the 1915 killings of the Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Empire by using the word “genocide,” considered as an attempt to relax the Armenian diaspora and the opposition in Armenia. The Turkish side, on the other hand, wanted to refer to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the statement, something Armenia says has nothing to do with the normalization of ties with Turkey. NTV reported that the Turkish side renewed the text and handed it over to the US delegation.

Before departing Istanbul, Davutoğlu gave closed-door press briefing. "I could not sleep last night. I am going to sign an accord which has historical responibility," NTV quoted him as saying early Saturday.

The protocols are accompanied by an appendix, which specifies a clear timetable for implementation. The agreements envision the opening of the border within two months after the second protocol goes into force, although, this step requires approval from the parliaments of both countries and their presidents.

In Istanbul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, “Armenian demands in time will be very important. We’ll not bend in the face of those demands.” Erdoğan assured that Turkey would not take any step that would leave Azerbaijan in difficulty. Asked about the meeting of the Armenian and Azeri presidents in Moldova last Thursday, he said a more positive step could be taken that would contribute to the normalization between Turkey and Armenia. “Despite this, we are in favor of developing relations with Armenia by protecting our good intentions and in a way that will not hurt Azerbaijan,” he told reporters. 

Although no links are established in the protocols between the normalization of Turkish-Armenian ties and the settlement of the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Erdoğan stressed it the opening of the border with Yerevan could be considered a process parallel to progress in Nagorno-Karabakh.

In a televised interview, Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek said the instability in the Caucasus was harming Turkey. “We want normalization [in ties with Armenia] which will bring peace and stability to the Caucasus,” he told private NTV television. He made clear, however, that the relationship between Armenia and Azerbaijan would be important in the process of normalization of ties between Turkey and Armenia.

French and British media have described the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia as "historic development." In it’s Saturday edition, British daily the Financial Times wrote, "If the agreement comes into effect, it will be a triumph for Turkey, increasingly active in regional diplomacy and keen to be seen as a force for stability in the Caucasus."