‘We are hopeful about Turkey-Armenia talks’, Swiss President Doris Leuthard has said.
Switzerland mediated talks between Turkey and Armenia last year as a result of which the two long-estranged neighbors signed a raft of protocols in Zurich to normalize their relations.
However, after the passage of one year neither country has ratified the protocols, and as time continues without any improvement, disillusionment with the process also grows. When asked if she believes the currently frozen process will deliver the desired normalization between Turkey and Armenia, Leuthard said they are hopeful but that a result may require more time.
“They [the protocols] have not worked yet. It needs time for both governments and societies. Probably you will never have the same view concerning the past, but you have a future. The people of these two countries must have a future. And, the future is built on the same interest that you try to give young people -- a perspective based on peace and neutral partnership. That is always the best thing,” she explained, pointing out that they “can influence the situation” although different interpretations as to what really happened in 1915 will probably never cease to exist.
Turkey vehemently denies that the killing of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans almost a century ago amounts to genocide and argues that the killings were the result of civil unrest, resulting in many other people in the region, including Turks, Kurds and others, dying at a time when the Ottoman Empire was on the verge of collapse and unable to keep the incidents under control.
When asked if the Turkish and Armenian sides still conduct talks although the process is frozen, Leuthard said: “Behind the curtains you always have contact. It depends on the political will of the sides. We are not the actors -- just the facilitators of the process.” She added: “There is no doubt that both sides have a political will to that end. It is sometimes not important to be fast. It is more important that you have an agreement based on quality and mutual understanding.” She dismissed suspicions as to the fate of the talks.
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