Armenian-Turkish Negotiations: A Cause for Concern
Ever since Armenian President Serge Sarkisian invited Turkish President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan for the Armenia-Turkey World Cup qualifying soccer match in September 2008, there have been a slew of reports alluding to an imminent rapprochement between Armenia and Turkey. Following Gul’s visit, high-level negotiations between Armenian and Turkish officials continued in places like New York, Istanbul, Helsinki, Zurich, Davos, and Munich, all with the stated intent of normalizing relations between the two countries.
After each of these meetings, we have heard vague utterances about the process “going well,” that “there is a willingness on both sides to solve their issues,” and that “we have never come this close to a plan regarding the final normalization of relations.” What has not been uttered are the actual details of the discussions and what Turkey is demanding in exchange for ending its 16-year illegal blockade of Armenia. The public has been left wondering what exactly is being said and agreed to that makes these meetings so “constructive.”
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The only way any agreement would be successful is if there is there is full transparency of the negotiations between the two parties. Armenians who live in turkey these days, deny they are Armenians by changing their identities, namely their names religion and ethnicity. They do this to survive as a minority! The survivors of this holocost are nearly all gone but their descendants are still alive and there are memorials commemorating the events. Until Turkey can man up and admit what they did there can’t be forgiveness or a truly peaceful solution. In my opinion?