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 YEREVAN
(Hurriyet)—Agreements signed by Turkey and Armenia to establish
diplomatic relations and open their sealed border risk becoming
null and void if Turkey insists on making the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict a precondition to its ratification of the protocols,
Armenia’s Prime Minister told the Turkish Hurriyet Daily in an
interview conducted in Yerevan last week.
“We very much hope the Turkish Parliament
will not take a step that would mean a miscarriage of the
agreements. If this happens, our parliament would [essentially
declare] the protocols to be null and void, Tigran Sargsyan was
quoted by the Hurriyet as saying. “We would be back to square
one.”
In a move to normalize relations, the two
countries signed two important documents in October but these
have not yet been ratified by the two countries’ parliaments.
Turkey has held up the document from going to a vote in its
parliament, with its prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
demanding Armenia first agree to a settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict favoring its ally Azerbaijan.
“Our position has not changed. Judging from
Prime Minister Erdogan’s statements, it seems that the Turkish
position has shifted, which means that the Turkish Parliament
may propose certain preconditions,” Sargsyan said.
“If Turkey comes up with preconditions,
Armenia would be free to do so as well,” he said, citing
genocide recognition and not entering any negotiations until
borders are opened as examples. He also emphasized that the
Turks were originally responsible for closing the border.
If the process fails because of Turkey’s
preconditions, Sargsyan said, “Turkey will have to explain to
[international powers] why it has broken its own agreement.
Turkey’s credibility will be at stake. It would be questionable
to sit down with Turkey again.”
“We are not playing any games with Turkey, we
are committed to an open and transparent foreign policy, we do
not make different statements to others and we do not see an
alternative to this process,” he added.
When asked about the deadline for the
ratification of the protocols, Sargsyan refrained from giving an
exact timeframe but urged “Turkey not to stall the process
artificially.”
“[Our] clear deadline is the Turkish
legislation. We are closely following this process. If we
observe that the Turkish Parliament is not stalling the process,
we will make our own conclusions,” Sargsyan said.
The Turkish government has already submitted
the protocols to its Parliament for broad discussions in the
relevant sub-commissions. Armenia, however, must first get the
approval of its Constitutional Court before proceeding with
parliamentary ratification. The court is set to announce its
verdict on January 12.
On the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Sargsyan
said the pace of the negotiations depended on Baku. Criticizing
the Azerbaijani leadership for making “war calls,” he said, “We
have to be ready for war as history taught us.”
“The best way to prevent war is to be ready
for it. If there is any time that Azerbaijanis feel that we are
not ready for war, nothing will stop them from breaking the
peace, which is why we are not afraid. What would we lose other
than our chains?” Sargsyan said.
Sargsyan said that Turkey, a key ally to
Azerbaijan, could not play a role on the solution of the
Karabakh conflict because it was by nature a non-neutral actor.
He also drew attention to the risks of linking Turkish-Armenian
rapprochement with the Karabakh process.
“The first is that it will not contribute in
any way to the resolution of the Karabakh issue, on the
contrary, it will impede it since Turkey is not neutral.
Secondly it will impede with the development of our relations,
which is neither in Turkey’s nor our interest,” he said.
“The third dimension is that Erdogan was
pretty tough this time [in Washington]. The impression is that
he might have wanted to create an equilibrium between the
acknowledgements of no preconditions in the protocols,” Sargsyan
said.
Sargsyan emphasized that the Armenian
Genocide is a pivotal issue for Armenians and the government,
but said the Armenian people should overcome the century long
animosity toward Turkey.
“I have even stated that in our parliament.
The attitude of our people toward Turks and Turkey needs to
change, however difficult that may be. Our foreign policy should
not be anti-Turkish. It should be pro-Armenian. We need to be
able to change the attitude of our nation,” he said.
Sargsyan said one of the most important tools
in developing ties between the two countries is public
acknowledgement.
“In my opinion, the eventual recognition of
the genocide will help Turkish society break through. This is
the road to becoming a full-fledged member of the European
Union. Its psychological complex must be overcome,” Sargsyan
said.
“The Germans succeeded in overcoming their
complex, helping their society to unprecedented social and
economic development,” he said.
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