Turkey and Armenia seek normal ties

Saturday, October 10, 2009 |

From Al-Jazeera News Online:


Turkey and Armenia are set to sign accords to reopen their borders and establish diplomatic ties after decades of bitter relations.
The signing is scheduled for Saturday in the Swiss city of Zurich.
However, protests have been held by Armenians, many of whom believe that Ankara should recognise the mass killing of Armenians by Ottomans during the first world war as genocide.
The Swiss foreign ministry confirmed on Friday that Edward Nalbandian and Ahmet Davutoglu, the respective Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers, would take part in the ceremony.
"The signing ceremony for protocols between the republic of Armenia and the republic of Turkey will occur tomorrow [Saturday] in Zurich," the Swiss foreign ministry announced.
The signing is the culmination of more than a year of Swiss-mediated talks.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state; Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister; and Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minster, are among those due to attend the signing of accords as a show of support.
Nationalist opposition
The protocols would still need ratification by their respective parliaments after being signed.




That endorsement will have to come as nationalists on both sides protest the accords, particularly an Armenian diaspora which is demanding that Turkey acknowledge the killings of 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as genocide.
Turkey has disputed the claims of genocide, with support from the US and UK, saying that the real death toll is lower.
Many Turks see the fighting as a civil war caused by the collapse of the Ottoman Empire during which an unverifiable number of Turks also died - although both sides agree that more Armenians than Turks were killed.
Both governments have majorities in parliament but are expected to hold back on immediately ratifying the protocols due to the opposition.
Anita McNaught, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Karakoyunlu on the Turkey's border with Armenia, said: "These protocols are powerful, but they have no legally enforceable status.
"They are reliant on the goodwill and moral authority of the parties who are the participants in it.
"What happens next is ratification ... they've got to sell this to their people and the politicians.
"If they push it though and they ratify it in parliament we see two things: immediately the establishment of diplomatic relations; then within two months the opening of borders."

Read more at Al-Jazeera (credit goes to Al-Jazeera)

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