Turkish-Armenian relations will be discussed during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's upcoming trip to the Armenian capital of Yerevan, a U.S. official said.
Detailing Clinton's upcoming trip to Central Europe and the Caucasus on Tuesday, Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon said he was sure Turkey-Armenia relations would be discussed during Clinton's trip to Yerevan.
At a press briefing Tuesday, Gordon pointed out that the protocols signed by Turkey and Armenia in October had not been ratified. Armenian President Serge Sarkisian announced in the spring that he was suspending the ratification until the Turkish side was ready to move forward.
Gordon said the trip would be a chance for Clinton to speak to Sarkisian about how Armenia perceived the stalemate.
"We continue to believe it would be a good thing for the protocols to get ratified and implemented and have an open border with Turkey that would benefit both Armenia and Turkey," Gordon said.
The protocols signed by Ankara and Yerevan in October aim to normalize relations and reopen the border, which Turkey closed in 1994 in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan after Armenian seized control of the disputed Karabakh region. But the protocols must be ratified by the parliaments of both countries, and neither party has proceeded with the ratification.
‘Flotilla incident is a setback’
Answering a question about Turkey's move to close its airspace to some Israeli military flights, Gordon said the flotilla incident was a setback for decades of close cooperation between Turkey and Israel.
Israeli commandos attacked a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, killing eight Turkish nationals and a U.S. citizen of Turkish descent on May 31.
"And since the flotilla incident, we've seen tensions in that relationship and talk of specific steps,” Gordon said. “Any steps away from what had been a really flourishing security, diplomatic, tourism and economic relationship is a setback and is unfortunate."
Hurriyet Daily News
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