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Zurich to host signing of deal between Armenia, Turkey
Armenia and Turkey are expected to sign protocols to establish diplomatic ties and open their border, turning the page on a century of hostility stemming from the killings of Anatolian Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, will sign the protocols.
The move would bolster Turkey's standing with the European Union, which it hopes to join, while boosting Armenia's economy and improving security in the South Caucasus, a key transit corridor for oil and gas supplies to the West.
On Friday afternoon, officials from Switzerland -- which acted as mediator in talks between Ankara and Yerevan -- continued to keep silent concerning the details of the ceremony as did Armenian and Turkish officials. However, a US State Department official, speaking to reporters in Washington on Thursday, said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will fly to Zurich on Saturday to attend the ceremony.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner are also expected to attend according to the senior State Department official, The Associated Press reported.
“We have long supported this process and she's [Clinton] going to demonstrate and underscore our support,” the official also told reporters, referring to the signing ceremony.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko on Thursday welcomed the planned signing of protocols as a positive step. “That's a logical and long-expected move,” Nesterenko said at a briefing. “The establishment of good-neighborly ties between Armenia and Turkey will help ease tensions and strengthen peace and security in the region.” Nesterenko said normalization of ties will also boost bilateral trade between the neighbors.
France, Russia and the United States are co-chairs of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has been working for a decade-and-a-half to mediate the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The normalization of relations also involves the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in neighboring Azerbaijan occupied by Armenian troops. Turks have close cultural and linguistic ties with Azerbaijan, which is pressing Turkey for help in recovering its land. Turkey shut its border with Armenia to protest the Armenian invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993.
The protocols to be signed by the two countries say Turkey and Armenia recognize their mutual frontiers and agree to open the common border within two months of the agreements formally coming into force. After being signed, the protocols will be submitted to the respective Parliaments for ratification on each side.
On Thursday, Davutoğlu expressed his confidence in the planned signing of the protocols. An announcement by Switzerland, the country that has mediated talks between Ankara and Yerevan, concerning the signing ceremony was expected to be released last Monday. Delay in the announcement led to comments suggesting a setback in the ongoing normalization process between Ankara and Yerevan, particularly due to the Armenian diaspora's pressure on Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan.
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