Armenian-Turkish correspondence instead of true normalization process
Still three months prior to April 24, we could record that the possibility of normalization in the Armenia-Turkey relations is almost excluded. To expect a significant move from Erdoğan’s government towards meeting the initiatives of the Armenian side seems naive. This is not an unexpected tactics. Armenian authorities once again tried to change the situation prior to the Centennial of the Genocide, but nothing worked out.
On May 27, last year, during the fourth session of the State Commission on Coordination of the events dedicated to commemoration of the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide held at the Sports and Music Hall after Karen Demirchyan, which was convoked with an enlarged staff and was aimed at finalizing the schedule and the strategy of the Commission’s actions in the run up to the official launch of the Centenary events, Serzh Sargsyan mentioned that once again we openly urge all the states and the international community to recognize and to condemn this unprecedented crime. “Official Ankara takes new measures that are sometimes unprecedented in terms of their form, yet, unfortunately display Turkey’s century-long policy of denialism. They replicate the well-known Turkish positions that seek to distort the history, by equalizing the victim with the perpetrator, by comparing the incomparable. There is only one possible step that Turkish authorities can take to free themselves from the heavy burden of the past, and that is the recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Half a step is not enough to achieve a tangible result. I would like to inform you that I have sent invitations to a number of heads of states to visit Armenia in 2015 and especially on April 24, to join us in paying tribute to the memory of one and a half million innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide, to speak out against the crime of genocide in general and to state that the Armenian people has not only survived through this hardship but also took the road of rebirth,” mentioned S. Sargsyan that day.
The mentioned invitation was conveyed to Ankara last year, on August 28, by the Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, who left for Turkey to attend the ceremony of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s taking the office of the President of Turkey. However, Erdoğan’s recently made a “flexible” move. He invited Serzh Sargsyan to attend ceremonies in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli battle, on April 24. According to the Turkish periodical press, it is expected that the mentioned event will be attended by Prince Charles of the Great Britain with his two sons, prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand, and among the leaders of 102 countries, Erdoğan had invited also the US President Barack Obama.
Among the Armenian-Turkish messages of last year, we can singled out the articles of the foreign ministers. After departure from Ankara, Foreign Minister of Armenia published an article in the French «Le Figaro» against the Turkish authorities and their adopted policy on Genocide matter, which was a response to the article published in May by Ahmet Davutoğlu. Erdoğan’s invitation to Serzh Sargsyan, on the one hand, proves what government we are dealing with, on the other hand, however, there is nothing surprising, because so far the Turkish government has not made any single move with regard to expressing a position other than the Azerbaijani government about Karabakh. No matter how much we appreciate Erdoğan’s move on the moral plane, we should also record this is today’s Turkey. A country, from which Serzh Sargsyan cannot expect a second half of “football” diplomacy.
Moreover, official Ankara first freezes and entered the Armenian-Turkish protocols into a deadlock because of the Karabakh conflict. To expect that after all, Turkey could make a significant move to meet the Armenian side prior to the 100th anniversary of the Genocide seems improbable. On the contrary, official Ankara does not miss any opportunity to show its willingness to support “brotherly” Azerbaijan and to spread out requirements thereof.
On the same day, when it became known that Erdoğan invites Serzh Sargsyan to Turkey, a Board session of Turkey-Azerbaijan High-Level Strategic Partnership Commission was held. Erdoğan had said that exchange of thought were made at the meeting with the President also about the Karabakh issue, and that on this matter, Turkey supports Azerbaijan and has criticized the intermediaries. “We have received the latest information on the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. We see that the Minsk Group is not sincere, and we cannot agree with what they say,” Erdoğan said. Ilham Aliyev, in his turn, also accuses the Armenian side, indicating that in the past, some progress was recorded in the talks, but Armenia has made provocative steps. “The OSCE Minsk Group is also unable to achieve any result. There are actions, but no results.”
Serzh Sargsyan promptly responded to Erdoğan’s invitation, which reads that by marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli on April 24, Turkey intends to distract the attention of the international community from the events dedicated to the centennial of the Armenian Genocide. S. Sargsyan advised Erdoğan not to forget sending a message to the world to recognize the Armenian Genocide, thus paying a tribute to the memory of 1.5 million innocent victims, and concluded his letter as follows, “Your Excellency, a few months ago I invited you to join us in commemoration of memory of the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide in Yerevan on the 24th of April. It is not a common practice for us to be hosted at the invitee’s without receiving a response to our invitation.”
Many people are fascinated by Serzh Sargsyan’s response to the letter. But this is not the kind of letters, regardless of the circumstances, of course, are necessary to measure the achievements in foreign policy. Today, ahead to the 100th anniversary of Genocide, official Yerevan’s policy is ineffective, not only because Ankara is the main break in the Armenian- Turkish relations, but also in the sense that we, on our part, do not conduct adequate actions in response to Turkey’s policy with the world. While, Turkey conducts a policy not only against recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but also against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Recently, official Ankara addressed remarks to Washington, too. Turkey is reluctant to spoil its relations with the US because of the Armenian genocide, announced Turkey’s foreign minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in his interview to “Milliyet” periodical press.
Basically, Turkey fearing that steps will be initiated in the US Senate, Congress for the 100th anniversary of the Genocide, makes preventive statements in advance, also sending a message to the international community. In early January, during the conference of ambassadors, Erdoğan announced that Armenians prefer to waste their energy on politicizing the “so-called Armenian genocide”. “Turkey will not allow distortion of historical facts, including the 1915 events,” said Turkish President, noting that “this year, some circles in the world will mark the 100th anniversary of the “Armenian genocide”.
Erdoğan hosted a dinner in honor of Turkish ambassadors attending the conference and during the dinner, he also touched upon the Armenian issues. According to Erdoğan, the Turkish Foreign Ministry is carrying out broad and large-scale measures. “In 2015, the ministry and other relevant authorities will work in a coordinated manner. I’m confident that they will be able to overcome baseless claims,” he said. While at the meeting with Turkish Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek and Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the latter has said that the Armenian claims are added in the third countries. “The Armenian genocide claims are increasing in the eyes of the third countries. In response, we unite our efforts in the circles of politicians.”
As we can see, official Ankara’s efforts are completely in different direction. And what is the official Yerevan’s policy in response to Turkey’s operations prior to the 100th anniversary of the Genocide? Opinions were voiced that after April 24, Turkey may go for concession in the relations with Armenia. However, given the current moves by Erdoğan’s government, it seems this possibility is also quite incredible.
Emma GABRIELYAN
