Stalemated Armenian-Turkish reconciliation process may resume only after next parliamentary elections in Turkey: expert
22.04.2010,
02:29
An Armenian political analyst said today the stalemated Armenian-Turkish reconciliation process may resume only after next parliamentary elections in Turkey.
YEREVAN, April 21, /ARKA/. An Armenian political analyst said today the stalemated Armenian-Turkish reconciliation process may resume only after next parliamentary elections in Turkey.
Alexander Iskandarian, head of the Caucasian Media Institute (CMI) in Yerevan, said after April 24 when Armenians worldwide will be marking the 95-th anniversary of the 1915 genocide, it will be clear whether Ankara would come under fresh international pressure to mend its relations with Armenia and if this happens, then the first results would appear no sooner than after 2011 parliamentary elections in Turkey, he said during a video conference between Yerevan and Armenia at Novosti Armenia international press center.
According to him the reconciliation process may get a boost earlier, but only after April 24 and further developments will be contingent largely on a set of external factors, particularly, on the stance of Washington, Moscow and Brussels on Armenia and Turkey.
He recalled that the independent Armenia since its inception was ready for a compromised settlement of its problems with Turkey as all three presidents declared that Yerevan was prepared for unconditional normalization of relations with Turkey. He also said the situation in Turkey regarding discussions on the Armenian genocide has changed dramatically in the last 5-6 years and the taboo on this issue was removed.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since Armenia became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its ally, Azerbaijan, which had a dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the ethnic Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan.
There are several sensitive issues complicating the establishment of normal relations between the two countries, particularly, Ankara’s blatant support of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process and Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge the mass killings of Armenians in the last years of the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. -0-
Alexander Iskandarian, head of the Caucasian Media Institute (CMI) in Yerevan, said after April 24 when Armenians worldwide will be marking the 95-th anniversary of the 1915 genocide, it will be clear whether Ankara would come under fresh international pressure to mend its relations with Armenia and if this happens, then the first results would appear no sooner than after 2011 parliamentary elections in Turkey, he said during a video conference between Yerevan and Armenia at Novosti Armenia international press center.
According to him the reconciliation process may get a boost earlier, but only after April 24 and further developments will be contingent largely on a set of external factors, particularly, on the stance of Washington, Moscow and Brussels on Armenia and Turkey.
He recalled that the independent Armenia since its inception was ready for a compromised settlement of its problems with Turkey as all three presidents declared that Yerevan was prepared for unconditional normalization of relations with Turkey. He also said the situation in Turkey regarding discussions on the Armenian genocide has changed dramatically in the last 5-6 years and the taboo on this issue was removed.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since Armenia became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its ally, Azerbaijan, which had a dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the ethnic Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan.
There are several sensitive issues complicating the establishment of normal relations between the two countries, particularly, Ankara’s blatant support of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process and Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge the mass killings of Armenians in the last years of the Ottoman Empire as a genocide. -0-
