Armenia and Turkey signed after Three-Hour delay

Written by Lucy Setian Saturday, 10 October 2009 20:15

Armenia and Turkey signed the long-discussed agreement today in Zurich, Switzerland, the international agencies infromed. It was intended to set them on a course to end a century of hostility stemming from brutal massacres at the end of the Ottoman Empire.

The two protocols would establish diplomatic relations, open the border between Turkey and Armenia that was closed in 1993 and establish a series of committees to work on economic affairs, the environment and other bilateral issues. They do not explicitly mention the genocide controversy. According to them a joint commission of independent historians will study the genocide issue.

A last-minute dispute delayed the signing ceremony in the Swiss city of Zurich for several hours – from 18:00 to around 21:00 Bulgarian time. The BBC's Kim Ghattas in Zurich says the Armenians had apparently raised objections to remarks due to be read out by the Turkish delegation.

After the signing neither side issued a statement, and our correspondent says this seems to have been the compromise arranged by US officials.

The Obama administration, mo AP Photo/Christian Hartmann, Pool re exact the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had been pressing the parties to reach agreement.

After resolving their differences, the foreign ministers of the two countries signed the deal this night. Neither side made a 3-minutes statement, which was originally planned.

The accord was quietly brokered by the Swiss over the past two years, with the help of French, Russian and U.S. officials. The ceremony was attended by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and the EU's High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Javier Solana.

The agreement still must be approved by the two countries' parliaments, where it is likely to face opposition from nationalists. Here we can wait for more 6 weeks before that happens.

Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia have had bitter relations since an outbreak of violence in 1915, when 1,5 Million Armenians were brutally killed. They were killed by troops or died from starvation and disease.

Many historians call the killings genocide, but Turkey strongly rejects that label, saying people died in forced relocations and fighting and even proclaiming a controversial genocided, made by the Armenians.

If ratified, the accord cou Armenian foreign minister Edouard Nalbandian ld have implications well beyond Turkey and Armenia. It may ease tensions in other parts of southeastern Europe and help with the establishment of oil pipelines to the West, officials said.

"It's a huge step. It's a historic breakthrough," said David Phillips, a scholar at American University who has worked on the dispute.

The Armenian issue periodically flares in U.S. politics, with Congress coming to the brink of formally recognizing the killings as genocide in 2007. That move strained U.S. relations with Turkey, a NATO member that has provided critical support for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The agreement almost certainly will not stop the drive by Armenians for a formal recognition of genocide. It has been met by protests in Armenia, where many people say it does not fully address the 1915 murders. Armenians have campaigned for the killings to be recognised internationally as genocide - and more than 20 countries have done so. Turkey admits that many Armenians were killed but the officials tell that the deaths were part of the widespread fighting that took place in World War I.

A roadmap for normalising relations between the two countries was signed this April.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 because of its war with Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno Karabakh. Correspondents say many people in Armenia feel their landlocked country has been too isolated since the Turkish border closed and are ready for it to re-open.

However, Phillips said reconciliation between the neighbors could result in dialogue and a reduction in tensions. "There will be more understanding, more empathy," he said.

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Last Updated ( Monday, 12 October 2009 11:21 )

Timeline

In March, The New York Times reported that a long-hidden official document from the Ottoman Interior Minister, Talaat Pasha, detailing the deportations of 972,000 Ottoman Armenians from 1915 through 1916 has been unearthed.

According to a long-hidden document that belonged to the interior minister of the Ottoman Empire, 972,000 Ottoman Armenians disappeared from official population records from 1915 through 1916, the NY Times said. The document was published by Turkish author and columnist, Murat Bardakci.

The documents, given to Mr. Bardakci by Mr. Talat's widow, Hayriye, before she died in 1983, include lists of population figures. Before 1915, 1,256,000 Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire, according to the documents. The number plunged to 284,157 two years later, Mr. Bardakci said.