Turkish, Armenian FMs meet for short talk in London

Davutoğlu-Nalbandian talks mark the first face-to-face meeting after Armenia’s court ruling draws strong criticism from Ankara. The ruling jeopardized the protocols that were signed to begin normalization of diplomatic relations between the two foes

The foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia held an impromptu meeting Thursday at an international conference in London during which Turkey relayed its concerns about the prospects of the two countries’ protocols. 

The informal meeting marked the first face-to-face talk since an Armenian court ruling drew strong criticism from Ankara, jeopardizing the fate of the protocols that seek to normalize diplomatic relations between the two old foes.

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu once more expressed Turkey’s concerns over the court ruling that refers to the 1915 killings of Armenians as “genocide” and makes reference to eastern Turkey as “Western Armenia,” diplomatic sources said. “The two sides had the chance to review their well-known positions. There is no change,” said one diplomat.

Davutoğlu and Nalbandian agreed to meet on the sidelines of a security conference next week in Munich, Germany, for more bilateral talks, sources said. They also said that meanwhile Ankara was urging third parties to prompt Armenia to indicate that the protocols’ content will not be contradicted.

The two foreign ministers held a telephone conversation last week with Ankara saying the court decision was against the spirit of the accords on which the sides already reached an agreement.

Davutoğlu held a 15-minute meeting Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as soon as he landed in London, with their talks focusing entirely on the Armenian court’s ruling, Turkish diplomats told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review. Ankara communicated its concerns to Washington and asked that these concerns be addressed. Clinton also met seperately t with Nalbandian on Thursday.

On the plane from Istanbul to London, Davutoğlu said Turkey signed the protocols with Armenia to normalize Turkish-Armenian ties, help Turks and Armenians eliminate their prejudices and maintain the comprehensive peace in the Caucasus. “We do not want those visions to be blurred. The court ruling is restrictive,” he said.

Turkey is now working on a legal text that proves the court ruling’s non-conformity with the protocols that will be sent to Switzerland, which brokered the talks between the two countries, and to the co-chairman of the Minsk Group, which is leading the Karabakh talks.

“Our views should be heard and our concerns should be removed,” said Davutoğlu.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday the deal between Ankara and Yerevan to open their shared border and establish diplomatic relations was under the growing threat of collapse. 

Armenia is pushing for rapid ratification of the protocols, signed in October, while Turkey has a longer time frame in mind, said the report. On Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev added concern about the deal by saying he was confident Turkey would not ratify the agreement until Armenia has returned Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory occupied by Yerevan.

“There is a common understanding in the region that there should be a first step by Armenia to start the liberation of the occupied territories,” Aliyev said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said he was “fully satisfied” with Turkey’s understanding of the issue, despite harshly criticizing Turkey’s handling of it in the past.

“If the two issues are disconnected, then probably Armenia will freeze negotiations with Azerbaijan [over Nagorno Karabakh],” said Aliyev, adding that he believed economic pressure was one of the main incentives for Armenia to come to the table. The leader has warned previously that such an outcome could lead to renewed war.

Davutoğlu will meet with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, on Friday at the London conference. Diplomatic sources said Ankara would inform Baku of its current position after the Armenian court ruling.

The Turkish foreign minister was scheduled to meet with Clinton again Thursday as the Daily News went to print. Davutoğlu also held talks with NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, his Kazakh counterpart and European Union’s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton.

Source: Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=davutoglu-holds-talks-with-armenias-nalbandian-2010-01-28

Posted by admin January 2010

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