367) Secret Turkish-Armenian talks focused on 3 key areas -Reopening border depends on Armenia's 'partial' withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh

Turkey is considering reopening its border with Armenia if Yerevan will commit to a partial pullout from the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, diplomatic sources told The New Anatolian yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity. Ankara expects a pullback from four regions in Nagorno-Karabakh, and believes that such a move can facilitate a comprehensive agreement between Yerevan and the Azeri capital Baku.

 

Secret talks between Turkish and Armenian senior diplomats seeking ways to normalize relations were focused on three key areas, according to diplomatic sources.

 

One of the key points in the talks was the recognition of the existing common borders. TNA learned that at a meeting between senior diplomats last month, Ankara suggested an "exchange of letters" between the two countries, in which the both parties would reaffirm their commitment to the Kars and Gumru Treaties of 1921. Armenian diplomats rejected this suggestion, stating that while they do not have any territorial claims or problem with recognizing the existing borders, they cannot accept this since the treaties set down Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijani territory. The Armenian side proposed other formulas to meet Turkey's expectations.

 

Yerevan's demand for the reopening of the Turkish-Armenian border constitutes another important issue in the talks. Ankara recently conveyed that it would consider reopening the border if Yerevan were to partially withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh. One diplomat said that the Azeris and Armenians are close to an agreement which would foresee an Armenian withdrawal from four regions in Nagorno-Karabakh, and Turkey has a positive view of this. But, Turkish diplomats underline that they are not a party to the negotiations and what is important is that any proposal must be satisfactory to the Azeris.

 

A third key issue in the talks between Turkish and Armenian diplomats was on the formation of a committee of historians. In recent meetings between senior diplomats, the Armenian side offered to establish a commission composed of parliamentarians and suggested that a committee of historians would be a subcommittee to it. Turkish diplomats had some reservations concerning the Armenians' suggestion, but the two sides agreed that the committee of historians should include Turkish, Armenian and Armenian diaspora members but no other third party.

 

This April, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan sent a letter to President Robert Kocharian, proposing to set up a commission of historians who would jointly study the events of 1915-18 and the genocide allegations. Kocharian responded by calling for the creation of a Turkish-Armenian intergovernmental body that would tackle this and other issues of mutual concern.

 

11 Aug 2005

Ayhan Simsek
The New Anatolian / Ankara