Turkey asks United States and Switzerland, the official mediator between Ankara and Yerevan, to give written clarification that the recent decision of Armenian Constitutional court will not legally close the door to challenge the claims of genocide. “We will try to find a solution on the legal ground,” says a Turkish official
Turkey will start talks with Switzerland and the United States to get legal clarification that the recent decision of the Armenian court will not prevent a debate between Ankara and Yerevan on whether or not the 1915 killings of Armenians at the hands of Ottomans amounted to genocide.
The recent decision by the Armenian Constitutional Court on the protocols agreed to by Armenia and Turkey to start normalization of relations has angered Ankara, which argues the decision legally closes the door to a debate challenging the genocide claims. Turkish reaction has been interpreted by some as a pretext not to ratify the protocols in the Parliament due to the objections of the opposition parties. “This is absolutely not true. We do not want the reconciliation process with Armenia to collapse,” said a senior Turkish official.
The groundbreaking protocols signed last October foresee the establishment of diplomatic ties, the opening of the border as well as the establishment of a committee that will discuss the 1915 events.
The Armenian Constitutional Court ruled last week that the protocols were in conformity with the Armenian constitution, but Turkey’s major source of concern is the court’s reference to the Armenian Declaration of Independence. The court said the interpretation and application of the protocols should be in compliance with the Armenian constitution and paragraph 11 of the Armenian Declaration of Independence, which states: “The Republic of Armenia stands in support of the task of achieving international recognition of the 1915 Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia.”
If the Armenians continue to consider the events of 1915 as an undisputable genocide, in the Turkish view, this goes against the essence of the normalization process. “We can set up a commission of historians that can talk about everything on the 1915 events, yet cannot discuss whether it was genocide or not because the Armenian court ruled this is not an issue open to discussion,” said a Turkish official. “We immediately asked for clarification from Armenia, the United States and Switzerland,” said the same official. Switzerland was the mediator during last year’s talks between Turks and Armenians.
Switzerland has first agreed with Turkey’s concerns, yet after talks with Armenians said the Swiss government was ready to guarantee Turkey that the court ruling would not hamper the process, according to the Turkish official. “We have asked Switzerland to give us a written guarantee,” said the official. Although the Swiss were unwilling to give the written guarantee, the concerned sides decided to continue the dialogue. “We will talk to Switzerland and the U.S. and try to find a solution on legal grounds,” the official added.
Meanwhile, Turkey has urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach a partial agreement that will pave the way later for a lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. So far talks between the Armenians and the Azerbaijanis have focused on five subjects. One of them is the withdrawal of the Armenian forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territory surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh.
While the protocols foresee no direct link between the Turkish-Armenian normalization and Nagorno-Karabakh, talks between Armenian and Azerbaijani leadership gained momentum after the start of the reconciliation process between Ankara and Yerevan, according to Turkish officials. “Our relations with Armenia have deteriorated due to the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. If there is no change in the Armenian-Azerbaijani track, then the efforts for Turkish-Armenian reconciliation can backfire,” said the Turkish official.
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