Secret Turkish-Armenian Talks Focused On 3 Key Areas

Secret Turkish-Armenian Talks Focused On 3 Key Areas

Reopening border depends on Armenia's 'partial' withdrawal from
Nagorno-Karabakh

Ayhan Simsek
The New Anatolian / Ankara

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.

Source: TNA, 11 August 2005