The historic protocols signed by Turkey and Armenia to establish diplomatic links and open their sealed border risk becoming null and void if Turkey insists on making the Nagorno-Karabakh issue a precondition, Armenia has said.
“We very much hope the Turkish Parliament will not take a step that would mean a miscarriage of the agreements. If this happens, our parliament would [essentially declare] the protocols to be null and void. We would be back to square one,” Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian told the daily Hürriyet in an interview in Yerevan last week.
In a move to normalize relations, the two countries signed two important documents in October but these have not yet been ratified by the two countries’ parliaments.
Following strong reaction from Azerbaijan, whose territory has been partially occupied by Armenian forces, the Turkish government announced that it would not move forward with the protocols unless Armenia and Azerbaijan make progress in negotiations for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. Armenia says the process should be free of preconditions.
“Our position has not changed. Judging from Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdoðan’s statements, it seems that the Turkish position has shifted, which means that the Turkish Parliament may propose certain preconditions,” Sarkisian said.
“If Turkey comes up with preconditions, Armenia would be free to do so as well itself,” he said, citing genocide recognition and not entering any negotiations until borders are opened as examples. He also emphasized that the Turks were originally responsible for closing the border.
One of the most fundamental problems between the two countries is the 1915 incidents that caused the deaths of many Armenian citizens of the Ottoman Empire. Terming it “genocide,” Armenia and the Armenian diaspora have worked hard for the events to be recognized as such by third countries.
Turkey, on the other hand, admits the killings but says it had nothing to do with the crime of genocide. If the protocols enter into force, the two countries will set up an independent commission to explore the incidents.
If the process fails because of Turkey’s preconditions, Sarkisian said, “Turkey will have to explain to [international powers] why it has broken its own agreement. Turkey’s credibility will be at stake. It would be questionable to sit down with Turkey again.”
He continued: “We are not playing any games with Turkey, we are committed to an open and transparent foreign policy, we do not make different statements to others and we do not see an alternative to this process.”
Process should not be stalled artificially When asked about the deadline for the ratification of the protocols, Sarkisian refrained from giving an exact timeframe but urged “Turkey not to stall the process artificially.”
“[Our] clear deadline is the Turkish legislation. We are closely following this process. If we observe that the Turkish Parliament is not stalling the process, we will make our own conclusions,” he said.
The Turkish government has already submitted the protocols to its Parliament for broad discussions in the relevant sub-commissions. Armenia, however, must first get the approval of its Constitutional Court before proceeding with parliamentary ratification.
Karabakh deal depends on Baku On the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Sarkisian said the pace of the negotiations depended on Baku. Criticizing the Azerbaijani leadership for making “war calls,” Sarkisian said, “Wehave to be ready for war as history taught us.”
“The best way to prevent war is to be ready for it. If there is any time that Azerbaijanis feel that we are not ready for war, nothing will stop them from breaking the peace, which is why we are not afraid. What would we lose other than our chains?” he said.
Arguing that Turkey could not play a role on the solution of the Karabakh issue because it cannot be neutral, Sarkisian also drew attention to the risks of linking Turkish-Armenian rapprochement with the Karabakh process.
“The first is that it will not contribute in any way to the resolution of the Karabakh issue, on the contrary, it will impede it since Turkey is not neutral. Secondly it will impede with the development of our relations, which is neither in Turkey’s nor our interest,” he said.
“The third dimension is that Erdoðan was pretty tough this time [in Washington]. The impression is that he might have wanted to create an equilibrium between the acknowledgements of no preconditions in the protocols,” Sarkisian said.
‘We must overcome our complex’ Sarkisian emphasized that the alleged genocide is an essential point for Armenians and the government, but said Armenian people should overcome their complex toward the Turkish people.
“I have even stated that in our parliament. The attitude of our people toward Turks and Turkey needs to change, however difficult that may be. Our foreign policy should not be anti-Turkish. It should be pro-Armenian. We need to be able to change the attitude of our nation,” he said.
Sarkisian said one of the most important tools in developing ties between the two countries is public acknowledgement.
“In my opinion, the eventual recognition of the genocide will help Turkish society break through. This is the road to becoming a full-fledged member of the European Union. Its psychological complex must be overcome,” Sarkisian said.
“The Germans succeeded in overcoming their complex, helping their society to unprecedented social and economic development,” he said.
