The Foreign Ministry's statement noted that Armenia and Turkey agreed to start internal political consultations on the two protocols -- the “Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations” and the “Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations” -- which were initiated during the course of the two countries' efforts under Swiss mediation. The border between Turkey and Armenia has been shut since 1993, after Turkey objected to Armenia's war with Turkish ally Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Neither country has embassies in the other's capital. Turkish-Armenian relations have also been overshadowed by the 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 than a million Armenians starting in 1915. Turkey categorically rejects these allegations. Now that bilateral relations are set to normalize between the two countries, a win-win situation emerges for both sides, many analysts say. According to Zaman's Mustafa Ünal, Turkey and Armenia reaching a “historic deal” in a bid to develop bilateral relations is no surprise because there have been ongoing efforts behind closed doors to reach a deal for a long time. The talks began in Switzerland one year ago, and Turkey's initiative determined the course of the process while President Abdullah Gül's visit to Yerevan for a soccer match between the national teams of Turkey and Armenia accelerated the talks. “The atmosphere is optimistic, but a solution to the problem is not easy because every problem has its roots in history,” says Ünal. In the case of the normalization of relations, he says Armenia will give up its allegations of genocide, recognize Turkey's territorial integrity and the genocide issue will be taken off the agenda of the politicians and left to the agenda of the historians. “There is democratic initiative [aimed at solving the Kurdish problem] on the one side and there is the Armenian initiative on the other. Turkey is confronting its historical problems, and the responsibility to deal with these problems is on the shoulders of the Justice and Development Party [AK Party] government. The risk is big but the hope is bigger,” suggests Ünal.
Milliyet's Sami Kohen talks about the advantages which the normalization of relations with Armenia will bring to Turkey, noting that the lack of relations between the two countries and the tense wind which has been blowing in the region has brought no benefits to Ankara, Yerevan or Baku so far. “The establishment of diplomatic relations with Armenia and both countries participating in dialogue on a range of subjects, from the genocide issue to all other regional and bilateral issues, will create new advantages and opportunities. The genocide propaganda, which frequently puts Turkey in a difficult position in the world, will lose its influence, and it will be possible for Turkey to play a more active role in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and be more influential in Armenia,” explains Kohen.
“The protocol eliminates two preconditions. Armenia did not want the Karabakh issue to be a precondition, while Turkey did not want the recognition of the genocide issue to be a precondition. The demands of both countries have been met to a large extent,” says Bugün's Erhan Başyurt, who thinks normalization of relations with Turkey will enliven economic life in Armenia. “Turkey will have solved a problem which it always faces in relations with Europe and the United States. There is just a win-win situation in question,” he says.
