By Karine Ohanian in Stepanakert (CRS No. 509, 04-Sep-09)<\/p>\n
Politicians in Nagorny-Karabakh have given a cautious welcome to the thaw in Armenian-Turkish relations, especially since the status of their own self-declared state was not included in the published \u201cprotocols\u201d.<\/p>\n
Ankara and Yerevan announced on the last day of August that, with two protocols, they had agreed the terms under which diplomatic relations between them could be restored, and the border opened, although the precise details of the agreement have not been released.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are closely following Armenian-Turkish relations, or more accurately, the true desire of Armenia to create these relations,\u201d said Bako Sahakian, president of Nagorny-Karabakh.<\/p>\n
Turkish politicians had previously linked a restoration of ties to a resolution of the status of Nagorny-Karabakh, which has declared independence but is internationally considered a part of Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey. Karabakh\u2019s Armenian inhabitants have governed themselves independently since Baku\u2019s troops were driven out in the early 1990s, and Sahakian said he was still concerned by Turkey\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis cannot inspire much hope for the creation of honest and true relations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Other figures believed the thaw could mean Ankara had abandoned its insistence on Karabakh being handed back to Baku\u2019s control.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn important positive element of the protocol is the lack of a direct connection between the normalisation of Armenian-Turkish relations and the regulation of the Nagorny-Karabakh conflict, and the clear separation of these two conflicts,\u201d Masis Mailian, a former candidate for the presidency and the current chairman of the Civic Council for Foreign Policy and Security, told IWPR.<\/p>\n
\u201cAzerbaijan, as a result of the Armenian-Turkish process, will become more compliant in the Karabakh talks process, which will allow a peace deal to be reached more quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karabakh\u2019s leaders will be closely watching the next six weeks, when the protocols will be discussed in the two countries, then submitted to the parliaments for approval. The removal of Karabakh from the discussions, as well as the lack of a mention of the Armenian genocide question has made the documents more likely to be accepted. At least half a million Armenians died when they were driven out of their homes in Ottoman Turkey in 1915 but Turkey denies it was genocide.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is currently too early to say what this possible Armenia-Turkey agreement could give to the Karabakh regulation process; it all depends on geopolitical developments. I welcome this thaw, but stress that attempts to connect Armenian-Turkish relations with regulating Karabakh-Azerbaijan are unacceptable. This cannot be done at the cost of Karabakh or the genocide,\u201d said David Babaian, head of the president\u2019s information service.<\/p>\n
Karine Ohanian is a freelance journalist and a member of IWPR\u2019s EU-funded Cross Caucasus Journalism Network.
\nThe terminology used in this report was chosen by the editors.<\/p>\n
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