PROTOCOLS

[Yervant1]

You call it defeatist, and I'll call it reality check. Big words and empty rhetoric will get us nowhere, see you at the Turkish border.

[Z'areh]

You call it defeatist, and I'll call it reality check. Big words and empty rhetoric will get us nowhere, see you at the Turkish border.

 

I know Yervant jan, big rhetoric and empty words are not good for biznis. Go to the Turkish border quickly you might loose your spot

 

[MosJan]

Blaise Pascal:

 

Justice without force is powerless; force without justice is tyrannical.

[Yervant1]

I know Yervant jan, big rhetoric and empty words are not good for biznis. Go to the Turkish border quickly you might loose your spot

You see we agreed on something!!!!! I'll save you a spot, don't you worry.

[Yervant1]

Blaise Pascal:

 

Justice without force is powerless; force without justice is tyrannical.

So true!!!!!!

 

We need to develop a big stick in order to have justice.

[Zartonk]

...Կարսի պայմանագրի մասին Ա. Մարուքեանն ասաց, որ անգամ կարող ենք պահանջներ ներկայացնել, քանի որ Թուրքիան այդ պայմանագիրը խախտել է՝ շրջափակելով Հայաստանը:

 

Նշենք, որ ըստ Կարսի պայմանագրի՝ Թուրքիայի եւ Հայաստանի միջեւ պէտք է մարդկանց եւ ապրանքների անխափան տեղաշարժ լինէր: Ա. Մարուքեանն առաջարկեց միջազգայնօրէն չեղեալ յայտարարել Կարսի պայմանագիրը, քանի որ այն խախտւել է հէնց Թուրքիայի կողմից:

 

Let us read that one more time and applaude the legitimacy of these brotherly protocols.

[Z'areh]

“Making territorial claims is not the best way to start normalizing relations,” countered Sarkisian. “There are realities of the 21st century political culture which we must take into account.”

 

Sarkisian again brushed aside opposition allegations that as part of the Western-backed deal with Ankara he also agreed to ensure greater Armenian concessions in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “We will never opt for unilateral concessions in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, regardless of what we could be offered in return,” he said

 

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No one is naive enough to think that normalizing relationship can occur with one-sided claim by one side against the other. But by saying this isn't our dear President in fact admitting his own failure, and the fiasco that these "protocols" represent? If territorial claims is not the best way to start normalization, then why did he agree to the border imposition that Turkey forced on him? Why didn't he say the same thing to them at the negotiating table?

 

On Genocide issue, he verbally guaranties that the genocide issue is not going to be discussed, if it does, he says it will not be questioned. Really? I say, has he heard Gul lately? or Erdogan lately? HIs verbal guaranty has no value when he puts his signature on that document.

 

After all these deceitful and incompetent performance, how can one trust his words on Artsakh.

 

Will Artsakh be the next shock announcement by him? Will we then see his ass-lickers justify and spin his words, "guarantying" Armenians self-determination within Azerbaijan? Sarkisian saying:“There are realities of the 21st century political culture which we must take into account.” means Armenia cannot go against Turkey's or US's wishes. The same might apply to Artsakh solution, I'm afraid.

 

One can expect anything from this individual.

 

 

[ED]

Ես ալ Հայաստան կուդամ ձեզի, գնացեք առեք

 

"Հագոբ Պարոնիան"

[Arpa]

TREATY???

What TREATY??

I have been meaning to ask this for quite sometime. It is obvious by now that I am not a poly-sci, and that I am an idiot when it comes to politics. So far we have been talking about the “protocols”, yet it takes an outsider to call a spade a spade , call it by its proper name “TREATY”. Treaty of what, for what? Are not treaties signed by warring parties? When was the last time we were at war with furkey? Oh! How naive of me? Were we not at "war"in 1915 when we "took arms and killed more of them"? They were at war with us, blockade is an act of war. Did we close the borders that now they are forcing us to open it? Does establishing diplomatic exchange require a “treaty”? Every day we see countries exchanging ambassadors and establishing diplomatic relations. Do they sign “treaties” to do so?

Regardless of what we call it “protocol” or any other proctological term it is a TREATY. Treaty of what, for what? To end a war between warring parties? Also note that this “treaty” will supersede all the upwards of dozens previous treaties, the likes of Sevres, Lausanne, Paris, Berlin, Kars, Moscow, … ad nauseam. Will this “treaty” be worth the papyrus it is written on, or just be filed in a dusty drawer along all the others, along the so called furkish “archives“?

In concusion. What is this “treaty”?, like you sign here , here and here. Where are the lines written by us to tell them “you sign here, here and here”?

------

http://hetq.am/en/politics/18607/

Robert Fisk: Genocide Forgotten; Armenians Horrified by Treaty with Turkey

[ 2009/10/08 | 11:05 ] politics

A new trade deal is set to gloss over the murder of 1.5 million people

In the autumn of 1915, an Austrian engineer called Litzmayer, who was helping build the Constantinople-Baghdad railway, saw what he thought was a large Turkish army heading for Mesopotamia. But as the crowd came closer, he realised it was a huge caravan of women, moving forward under the supervision of soldiers.

The 40,000 or so women were all Armenians, separated from their men – most of whom had already had their throats cut by Turkish gendarmerie – and deported on a genocidal death march during which up to 1.5 million Armenians died.

Subjected to constant rape and beatings, some had already swallowed poison on their way from their homes in Erzerum, Serena, Sivas, Bitlis and other cities in Turkish western Armenia. “Some of them,” Bishop Grigoris Balakian, one of Litzmayer’s contemporaries, recorded, “had been driven to such a state that they were mere skeletons enveloped in rags, with skin that had turned leathery, burned from the sun, cold, and wind. Many pregnant women, having become numb, had left their newborns on the side of the road as a protest against mankind and God.” Every year, new evidence emerges about this mass ethnic cleansing, the first holocaust of the last century; and every year, Turkey denies that it ever committed genocide. Yet on Saturday – to the horror of millions of descendants of Armenian survivors – the President of Armenia, Serg Sarkissian, plans to agree to a protocol with Turkey to re-open diplomatic relations, which should allow for new trade concessions and oil interests. And he proposes to do this without honouring his most important promise to Armenians abroad – to demand that Turkey admit it carried out the Armenian genocide in 1915.

In Beirut yesterday, outside Mr Sarkissian’s hotel, thousands of Armenians protested against this trade-for-denial treaty. “We will not forget,” their banners read. “Armenian history is not for sale.” They called the President a traitor. “Why should our million and a half martyrs be put up for sale?” one of them asked. “And what about our Armenian lands in Turkey, the homes our grandparents left behind? Sarkissian is selling them too.”

The sad truth is that the 5.7 million Armenian diaspora, scattered across Russia, the US, France, Lebanon and many other countries, are the descendants of the western Armenians who bore the brunt of Turkish Ottoman brutality in 1915.

Tiny, landlocked, modern-day Armenia – its population a mere 3.2 million, living in what was once called eastern Armenia – is poor, flaunts a dubious version of democracy and is deeply corrupt. It relies on remittances from its wealthier cousins overseas; hence Mr Sarkissian’s hopeless mission to New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Beirut and Rostov-on-Don to persuade them to support the treaty, to be signed by the Armenian and Turkish Foreign Ministers in Switzerland.

The Turks have also been trumpeting a possible settlement to the territory of Nagorno-Karabagh, part of historic Armenia seized from Azerbaijan by Armenian militias almost two decades ago – not without a little ethnic cleansing by Armenians, it should be added. But it is the refusal of the Yerevan government to make Turkey’s acknowledgement of the genocide a condition of talks that has infuriated the diaspora.

“The Armenian government is trying to sweeten the taste for us by suggesting that Turkish and Armenian historians sit down to decide what happened in 1915,” one of the Armenians protesting in Beirut said.

“But would the Israelis maintain diplomatic relations if the German government suddenly called the Jewish Holocaust into question and suggested it all be mulled over by historians?”

Betrayal has always been in the air. Barack Obama was the third successive US President to promise Armenian electors that he would acknowledge the genocide if he won office – and then to betray them, once elected, by refusing even to use the word. Despite thunderous denunciations in the aftermath of the Armenian genocide by Lloyd George and Churchill – the first British politician to call it a holocaust – the Foreign Office also now meekly claims that the “details” of the 1915 massacres are still in question. Yet still the evidence comes in, even from this newspaper’s readers. In a letter to me, an Australian, Robert Davidson, said his grandfather, John “Jock” Davidson, a First World War veteran of the Australian Light Horse, had witnessed the Armenian genocide: “He wrote of the hundreds of Armenian carcasses outside the walls of Homs. They were men, women and children and were all naked and had been left to rot or be devoured by dogs.

“The Australian Light Horsemen were appalled at the brutality done to these people. In another instance his company came upon an Armenian woman and two children in skeletal condition. She signed to them that the Turks had cut the throats of her husband and two elder children.”

In his new book on Bishop Balakian, Armenian Golgotha, the historian Peter Balakian (the bishop’s great-nephew) records how British soldiers who had surrendered to the Turks at Kut al-Amara in present-day Iraq and were sent on their own death march north – of 13,000 British and Indian soldiers, only 1,600 would survive – had spoken of frightful scenes of Armenian carnage near Deir ez-Zour, not far from Homs in Syria. “In those vast deserts,” the Bishop said, “they had come upon piles of human bones, crushed skulls, and skeletons stretched out everywhere, and heaps of skeletons of murdered children.”

When the foreign ministers sit down to sign their protocol in Switzerland on Saturday, they must hope that blood does not run out of their pens.

 

 

 

[Zartonk]

Thank you Arpa. Frisk packs an emotional punch as always.

 

However, I think he should have also mentioned the outrage that could ensue if the German chancellor announces that the state intends to 'return' Germany to the 'glories' of the Third Reich, or for that matter how any ethnic group would react if a FOREIGN statesman blurts out advice regarding the people and her Diaspora.

[Boghos]

Armenia and Turkey will likely sign the protocols for the establishment of diplomatic relations that will lead to opening the borders. In the diaspora there has been tremendous dissatisfaction with the protocols, witness the manifestations in various cities during Sargsyan visits. But the diaspora unsurprisingly misses the point. Signing of the protocols and opening the borders may be one of the very few meaningful acts by an Armenian politician ever since Armenia became independent that is not of a self serving nature. It can easily be argued that such undertaking is not a result of Armenia or Turkey's initiatives or desires. Actually I am inclined to think that were it left to either of these countries the normalization of relations would take a long time to take place if ever.

 

I confess that I am not very much interested on what motivated Turkey to agree to move forward and even state that Karabagh is not conditional to establishing relations with Armenia. I do think however that Turkey always be a wolf in sheep's cloth. But that would be the case with closed borders as well and in fact there is nothing new in it. Hence taking a very simplistic approach to this issue I think only two things matter: what Armenia is to gain and what will it cost. What Turkey will gain seems to be clear: US and European goodwill that was in great part lost by its reduced importance after the end of the Cold War and its stance in Irak. This goodwill may show itself in various forms but none that I can see detrimental to the interests of Armenia.

 

For Armenia the economic gains are obvious: the country already imports hundreds of millions of dollars in goods from Turkey that go through Georgia, this thankfully will no longer be the case. Goods will be cheaper and we won't have to rely on the least reliable of neighbours. Also most likely there will be a larger amount of goods and potentially services being offered. Yes, Armenia having remained closed and with such a small and inefficient market for several reasons, probably cannot compete with Turkey on say textiles and candy manufacture. But neither can Georgia, Russia, or any European country. These are realities that we have to face and deal with it instead of sticking our heads into a hole, and a very expensive hole at that. I would be one of the last ones to brag about Armenia's capabilities and potential, I would be more inclined to think about the terrible effects of the brain drain and the monopolies that profit unduly from the little wealth that most Armenian citizens have at their disposal. Not because I am a pessimist but rather because I know how difficult it is and it will be to develop under the current circumstances. But we have no choice. We can't wait until a given set of undefined auspicious conditions allow us to be in better standing with the neighbors. Things just don't happen that way. Opening the borders is a major positive economically and hopefully politically as well.

 

Now the cost. The fact is that Armenia had very little in terms of bargaining power with Turkey. Its leverage is probably more a result of Turkey's ambitions in other arenas and the US desire to have Turkey as a stabilizing factor in an otherwise very unstable region. Good relations with Armenia are thus easily accomplished as Turkey does not have to give anything up. But what does Armenia pay for that? Almost nothing. Or who is to believe that Genocide recognition on the part of Turkey was ever in the agenda? or giving up inexistent territorial claims? or any other fantasies that the diaspora entertains but have virtually no relation with what can be achieved now?

 

The diaspora and particularly its most recalcitrant interest groups are behaving according to a script that is not new or unexpected. But who is to say that this behavior is also in the best interest of the Republic of Armenia? Armenia has to move forward. I am not saying that there is not some bad taste left after reading the protocols. But that's just one contract that can be rewritten when possible and necessary. Not an excuse to remain paralyzed while the country is in an unreasonable situation.

Edited October 10, 2009 by Boghos

[Arpa]

WOW!!!! And WOW!!! Again.

Did anyone else see the CNN report about the “signing” from Zurich, istanbul and Yerevan?

Did they say that Ms. Clinton’s convoy had to stop and return to her hotel? I will watch it again.

The report showed maps, spoke about the “blockade”, and the 100 year dispute about the massacres-”GENOCIDE”.

WOW!!! And WOW!! Again.

We will eventually see the video-report. Did anyone record it?

Very few of us want to admit that this is one of the biggest coup’s that furkey has ever recorded in a hundred years, that all this noise about the GENOCIDE is just gobbledygook, turkey talk, a “noise in the wilderness“.

Drawing a THICK LINE

==========

between the FAT DIASPORA and the STARVINGLY BLOCKADED Armenia.

Edited October 10, 2009 by Arpa

[Yervant1]

Very well said Boghos Jan, exactly my feelings about the current situation. As I said before we need to be realistic about today's realities and stop daydreaming.

[Arpa]

The latest.

It has been delayed.

As commentator, who claimed to be a lawyer (I wish I could find it) specilalizing in "govertmental affairs" , stated that these "protocols"were ritten in three languages, Armenian, furkish and ENGLISH, an that the latter will be the binding "verbiage", hze was questioning the Armenian delegation's mastery of te English language with all its implications and HIDDEN nuances, i.e "historical review", "ëxisting borders"and "territorial integrity". Yes, let us see who in that delegation can read and fully understand the English language.. russky, armiansky and turksy are not the final official drafts.

---

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/10/10...eace/index.html

Turkey, Armenia to sign peace agreement

Story Highlights

Swiss-mediated deal would normalize relations between rival nations

Accord also open the border, which has been closed since 1993

Animosity dates back to Ottoman Empire and massacre of ethnic Armenians

Both countries still must ratify the protocols, and difficulties remain

updated 12 minutes ago

Next Article in World »

From Jill DoughertyCNN Foreign Affairs Correspondent ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) -- The historic Saturday signing of an agreement normalizing relations between Turkey and Armenia was delayed when the Armenian delegation objected to the wording of an oral statement.

The Swiss-mediated peace deal would open the border between the countries, which has been shut since 1993.

"We are facilitating the two sides in coming to an agreement on the statements that they're going to make at the ceremony," U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

He didn't indicate what Armenia's problem with the wording was.

The statement was to be delivered after the signing in Zurich. Officials said the signing is apparently not jeopardized by the holdup.

The agreement would normalize relations between the countries after nearly a century of animosity.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is present in Zurich to attend the signing ceremony. After the disagreement arose, her motorcade turned around and she went back to her hotel.

She and Assistant Secretary of State Phil Gordon were meeting with the Armenian foreign minister, Kelly said.

The agreement would establish diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia and open their common border within two months after the agreement is ratified by each country's parliament.

Turkish-Armenian relations are often overshadowed by dispute over the massacre of ethnic Armenians in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, more than 90 years ago.

Armenians accuse Ottoman Turks of committing genocide, killing more then a million Armenians beginning in 1915. Turkey vehemently rejects these allegations.

A complicating issue is the "frozen conflict" in neighboring Nagorno-Karabach, an ethnically Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan. Turkey closed its border with Armenia after Armenia attacked Azerbaijan over the territory.

During the U.S. presidential campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama called for passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution. Since his election, he has stepped back from the issue.

A major impediment to relations is a powerful lobby of ethnic Armenians living abroad -- 5.7 million of them worldwide -- who are violently opposed to any deal with Turkey.

Washington, aware of the lobbying power of Armenian-Americans, at the same time has good relations with Turkey, which provides troops for the NATO contingent in

Edited October 10, 2009 by Arpa

[MosJan]

Turkey, Armenia Delay Signing Accord By VOA News

10 October 2009

 

The signing of an accord to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia was delayed Saturday due to disagreements over the statements the two sides will make.

 

http://www.voanews.com/english/images/Clintonweb_23jul09_210.jpgSecretary of State Hillary Clinton (file photo)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Zurich, Switzerland, for the signing ceremony, but returned to her hotel just before she was to attend the ceremony.

 

U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said U.S. officials are helping the two sides come to an agreement on the statements they are going to make.

 

The Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers, Edward Nalbandian and Ahmet Davutoglu, are in Zurich to sign the accord, which would end a century of bitterness over the World War One killings of Armenians under Ottoman Turkish rule.

 

If ratified, the deal would restore diplomatic ties and open the countries' sealed border.

 

But analysts say strong domestic opposition in both Armenia and Turkey will likely slow the ratification in their respective parliaments.

 

Armenians want the World War One massacres recognized as genocide - a label Turkey strongly rejects.

 

The agreement calls for a joint commission of independent historians to examine the genocide issue, which some experts say is a concession to Turkey since the panel will reopen an issue Armenia says has already been confirmed.

 

An ongoing territorial dispute between Armenia and Turkey's ally, Azerbaijan, could also complicate efforts to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations.

 

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan, which was fighting Armenian-backed separatists in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh territory.

 

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Friday that talks with his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarkisyan, over the disputed enclave had failed, contradicting previous statements by Russia.

 

The two presidents discussed the issue Thursday in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, during a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a group comprised of most of the former Soviet republics.

 

 

 

[MosJan]

Address of the President of Armenia to the people

of the Republic of Armenia and to all Armenians

 

Dear compatriots:

 

For the past several months the attention of Armenia and the Armenians worldwide was focused on the ongoing process of the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations and in particular the two initialed Protocols. All parts and layers of the Armenian nation answered our call to open a public debate on the documents and engaged in it. We saw a new strong wave of a debate over the smaller and bigger issues which concern Armenia and the Armenians.

The debate included a large variety of issues not related to the Armenian-Turkish negotiations but concerning the whole Armenian nation. This process caused and triggered a new, engaged discussion on the place and the role of Armenia and the Armenians, the present and the future of Armenia and the Armenians. As a result, the world saw and understood that, when it comes to the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations, they have to deal not just with Armenia with its three million population, but with the ten million Armenians. And let no one ignore the fact that, contrary to any slogans, the Armenian nation is united in its goals and is strong with its sons and daughters. And let no one try to split Armenia and our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora in presenting their concern over the future of Armenia as an attempt to impose something on the Republic Armenia.

 

My fellow compatriots,

The historic destine of our nation has many times been focuses on the directive of searching wise exits of the most complex situations. We have only succeeded when we pragmatically assessed the current challenges and took appropriate actions. Today we also find ourselves in a similar position. In order to build and consolidate our statehood we, in our collective identity, need to demonstrate adequate thinking and action.

Today, we are trying to put on a normal track the relations with a country where, under the Ottoman rule, our nation fell victim to the policy of patricide and genocide. The scars of the Genocide do not heal. And the memory of our martyrs and future of our generations dictates to have solid and stable state, powerful and prosperous country, a country which is the rebirth of the dreams of the whole Armenian nation. One of the significant steps along that road is having normal relations with all our neighbors, including Turkey.

Independence dictates the will and determination to take responsible decisions; it dictates pragmatism and forward-looking sustained work. That is the road I have selected. I have done it with the strong understanding of the historical reality and a strong belief in the future of our people.

There is no alternative to the establishment of the relations with Turkey without any precondition. It is the dictate of the time. It is not this need that is being debated today. The concern of individuals and some political forces is caused by the different interpretation of certain provisions contained in the Protocols and their historic mistrust towards Turkey.

Having realistically assessed these circumstances and being convinced in the necessity and correctness of the steps undertaken, I insist on the following:

1. No relations with Turkey can question the reality of the patricide and the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian nation. It is a known fact and it should be recognized and condemned by the whole progressive humanity. The relevant sub-commission to be established under the intergovernmental commission, is not a commission of historians.

2. The issue of the existing border between Armenia and Turkey is to be resolved through prevailing norms of the international law. The Protocols do not go beyond that.

3. These relations cannot and do not relate to the resolution of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict, which is an independent and separate process. Armenian does not regard the clause of the territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders contained in the Protocols as in any way related to the Nagorno Karabagh problem.

4. The Armenian side will give an adequate reaction if Turkey protracts the process of ratification or raises conditions for it. Armenia undertakes no unilateral commitments though these Protocols and does not make any unilateral affirmations. Armenia is signing these Protocols in order to create basis for the establishment of normal relations between our two countries. Hence, if Turkey fails to ratify the Protocols within a reasonable timeframe and does not implement all the clauses contained herein within the provided timeframe or violates them in the future, Armenia will immediately take appropriate steps as stipulated by the international law.

Dear compatriots, in addressing you I want to emphasize that today, more than ever our people should stand united; we should have capability of maturing our collective identity to life in the reality of statehood. That is our road to the future.

The signing of the Protocols will be followed by stages of their ratification and implementation. All the concerns and possible threats which were so widely expressed in the course of the debate will be taken into careful consideration and we shall be able to prevent any development that might contradict our national interest. Today, I am more than convinced that we will succeed. And we will do that together, all of us, the Armenians. Today we are not the same we were only a few months ago. And it is a fact from now on.

I have confidence in the wisdom of our people. I have confidence that together we shall hand down a prosperous and peaceful motherland to our generation. It will definitely be so.

And may God be with us!

 

 

[MosJan]

Statement on introducing clause on Karabakh caused delay in Protocol signing 10.10.2009 22:03 GMT+04:00 http://www.panarmenian.net/news/images/ico_print.gif http://www.panarmenian.net/news/images/ico_mail.gif /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Delay in signing of Armenian-Turkish Protocols was caused by Turkish FM's desire to introduce in documents clauses concerning Karabakh conflict, a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent reports from Zurich.

 

All delagations who gathered in Zurich university have already returned. Armenian delgation was headed by RA Ambassador to Switzerland Charles Aznavur.

 

 

[MosJan]

Protocol signing postponed upon Armenia side’s initiative

10.10.2009 21:13 GMT+04:00 Print version Send to mail

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Signing of Armenian-Turkish Protocols was postponed upon Armenian side’s initiative, U.S. State Department representative Ian Kelley said. There are unconfirmed data that RA FM Edward Nalbandyan terminated meeting with U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton, a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent reports from Zurich. Presumably, Armenian side failed to reach agreement with Turkey at the last moment. Hillary Clinton who was on her way to Zurich University returned to hotel.

 

Earlier, Swiss Foreign Ministry reported that Protocol signing had been postponed. It is unknown whether documents will be signed at all. The Protocols were to have been signed in presence Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey since Switzerland is a mediator in negotiation between Armenia and Turkey.

 

U.S. State Hillary Clinton, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland Charles Aznavour and Turkey’s Ambassador to Switzerland Oguz Demiralp have arrived in Switzerland to participate in the ceremony.

 

[MosJan]

Edward Nalbandyan terminated meeting with Hillary Clinton?

10.10.2009 20:59 GMT+04:00 Print version Send to mail

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ PanARMENIAN.Net agency has received unconfirmed reports that FM Edward Nalbandyan terminated meeting with U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton. Very probably, parties failed to agree certain issues with Turkish side, a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent reports from Zurich.

 

Edward Nalbandyan and Hillary Clinton first had a tкte-а-tкte; later they were joined by Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu.

 

Earlier, Swiss Foreign Ministry reported that Protocol signing had been postponed. It is unknown whether documents will be signed at all. The Protocols were to have been signed in presence Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey since Switzerland is a mediator in negotiation between Armenia and Turkey.

 

U.S. State Hillary Clinton, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland Charles Aznavour and Turkey’s Ambassador to Switzerland Oguz Demiralp have arrived in Switzerland to participate in the ceremony.

 

[MosJan]

Obama’s stance on RA-Turkish Protocols remains unchanged

10.10.2009 18:09 GMT+04:00 Print version Send to mail

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ U.S. President Barack Obama’s position on Armenian-Turkish relations remains unchanged, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said in a speech devoted to upcoming signature of RA Turkish Protocols.

 

Journalists reminded Gibbs that while Senator, Obama had characterized 1915 acts against Armenians as “Genocide” during his pre-election visit to Turkey, but during his visit as President in April 2009 he avoided using the term. Gibbs, however, attached importance to the fact that U.S. President met representatives of both sides during his visit in order to understand their mutual interests, Itar-Tass reports.

 

[MosJan]

What was the real cause of postponement? /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish media report that ahead of signing Armenian Turkish Protocols in Zurich, RA FM Edward Nalbandyan wished to introduce his amendments concerning Armenian Genocide, to which Turkish side disagreed. Turkish journalists say that postponement was caused by such factors as Armenian Genocide, Karabakh conflict and inaccurate wording, a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent reports from Zurich.

 

Other sources report that Turkish side wanted to introduce in documents a clause on Nagorno Karabakh conflict. However, Armenia side announced that the problem bore no relationship to Armenian-Turkish rapprochement.

[MosJan]

Armenia will undertake adequate steps if Turkey fails to ratify Protocols, or violates them in future 10.10.2009 16:38 GMT+04:00 http://www.panarmenian.net/news/images/ico_print.gif http://www.panarmenian.net/news/images/ico_mail.gif /PanARMENIAN.Net/ In connection with RA-Turkish rapprochement protocols’ conclusion in Zurich, RA President Serzh Sargsyan addressed a statement to Armenian people. The statement ran as follows, “The whole world became aware that RA-Turkish relations involve not only 3 million Armenian residents, but also 10 million Armenians all over the world. Armenian nation is united in its goals, and attempts to separate Armenia and Diaspora are useless. Independence requires the will and determination for brave decisions, realism and consistent work. I’ve chosen this way and did it with a deep sense of responsibility and belief in Armenia’s future”.

 

Serzh Sargsyan also noted that establishment of RA-Turkey relations without preconditions has no alternatives. “I’d like to once again emphasize that any relations with Turkey can’t question the veracity of Armenian Genocide. Intergovernmental committee’s subcommission is not a historical committee. The issue on the absence of borders between Armenia and Turkey is to be resolved in accordance with international legislation. RA-Turkey relations are not linked to NKR conflict settlement: this is a separate process. Armenia does not view Protocol stipulations on territorial integrity and inviolability of borders as a reference to NKR issue,” Presidential statement said.

 

RA President emphasized that procrastinations in Protocols’ ratification or setting new conditions will be given corresponding feedback. “Protocols do not spell Armenia’s undertaking unilateral obligations. If Turkey fails to ratify Protocols, or violates them in future, Armenia will undertake adequate steps in accordance with international legislation.”

 

In his statement, RA President urged Armenian nation to unite. “All the concerns voiced during discussions will be taken into consideration. We have to be capable of preventing any developments, contradicting to national interests,” Presidential statement concluded.

 

 

[MosJan]

Turkish state prepared new speech text 10.10.2009 22:33 GMT+04:00 http://www.panarmenian.net/news/images/ico_print.gif http://www.panarmenian.net/news/images/ico_mail.gif /PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkish side is reported to have prepared a new speech text which will be delivered after signing of Armenian-Turkish Protocols. Text has been sent to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. RA FM Edward Nalbandyan should also get familiarized with it, Armenian Turkologist, YSU Professor Ruben Melkonyan said, quoting Turkish media.

 

Postponement in Protocol signing was caused by Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu’s desire to introduce in Turkish side’s statement a clause on Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

 

 

[MosJan]

Zurich sees crowded protest against RA-Turkish Protocols

10.10.2009 19:41 GMT+04:00 Print version Send to mail

 

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A big crowd in Zurich is participating in a protest against Armenian-Turkish Protocols. Some people holding posters have gathered near the town’s university where Protocol signing will take place, a PanARMENIAN.Net correspondent reports from Zurich.

 

At 8:00 p.m., Armenian and Turkish FMs are expected to start signing of RA-Turkish Protocols initialed on August 31.

 

The documents will be very probably signed in presence Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey since Switzerland is a mediator in Armenian-Turkish negotiations. U.S. State Hillary Clinton, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, Armenia’s Ambassador to Switzerland Charles Aznavour and Turkey’s Ambassador to Switzerland Oguz Demiralp are in Switzerland to participate in the ceremony.

 

[MosJan]

"Serzh Sargsyan has split the Diaspora"

 

Nagorno Karabakh's ex Defence Minister Samvel Babayan characterizes the Armenian-Turkish Protocols as pro-Turkey documents, resulted by long-run negotiations.

 

"With the adoption of the Protocols, Armenia endorses Turkey's territorial wholeness and neglects the Genocide issue while the two issues are interrelated," Samvel Babayan told a news conference on October 9.

 

NKR's former Defence Minister notes that the documents contain rough breaches which need to be addressed.

 

"Azerbaijan has a great influence on Turkey today and if Turkey crowns the negotiation process with success Armenia will either have to abort the process or present Nagorno Karabakh to Azerbaijan.

 

The ratification of the Protocols by the Armenian National Assembly will raise the issue of power change. Surely, I shall second people and oppose to the documents. We are ready to struggle with anyone for the sake of Karabakh."

 

Asked whether he is ready to join ARF's protest against the Protocols, Mr. Babayan said: "ARF-Dashnaktsutiun's uprising is natural as they have no other alternative but consolidate the Armenian nation against the Armenia-Turkey Protocols. In this context, we should unite, help each other and elect a leader."

 

"On his way to the normalization of Armenian-Turkish ties Serzh Sargsyan has made grave mistakes, in particular he has ignored the opinion of Armenians and Karabakhi people and split the Diaspora," added Mr. Babayan.