Manoyan: Dialogue with Turkey Could Hurt Armenia

YEREVAN (Combined Sources)—Dialogue with Turkey could hurt Armenia, said ARF political director Giro Manoyan on April 13 during a press conference.

Manoyan emphasized that any agreement made on opening the Turkey-Armenia border must come with documents on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Speaking at a news conference on April 10, President Serge Sarkisian said Armenia would “emerge from this process stronger” because the international community would have no doubts about its commitment to an unconditional normalization in Turkey-Armenia relations.

“In a sense, we share the president’s opinion,” said Manoyan, “but it all depends on how long those negotiations will continue and whether or not we will lose something else in the process.”

Until now, he said, Armenia has successfully avoided the inclusion of the Nagorno-Karabagh peace process in its discussions with Turkey. Yet, the recent vocal opposition to any agreement between Armenia and Turkey by Azerbaijan could compel Turkey to take a second look.

In the event that Turkey yields to Azeri demands, the talks will crumble, Manoyan said.

Turkey has entered into this “normalization” process because of its regional interests, he added, and talk of an impending agreement was strategically planned to ward off any possible recognition of the Armenian Genocide by President Barack Obama, who had made a campaign pledge to properly characterize the events of 1915 as genocide.
“One of the reasons why Turkey began the negotiations is to prevent Obama from uttering the word ‘genocide’ on April 24,” he told journalists. “And if the Turks succeed in doing that, I think we will not emerge stronger, whatever the outcome of the negotiations.”

Obama avoided using the term during his visit to Turkey in early April, saying he did not want to undermine Turkish-Armenian talks, which “could bear fruit very quickly, very soon.”

However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has since twice stated that Turkey will not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia nor open the Turkish-Armenian border before a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “We will not sign a final deal with Armenia unless there is agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia on Nagorno-Karabagh,” Erdogan said on April 10, according to the Anatolia news agency.

In his press conference, Manoyan repeated that any agreement between Armenia and Turkey should not call into question the veracity of the Armenian Genocide. He also said that the ARF would publish its assessment of the political and economic implications on of an Armenian-Turkey agreement Armenia in the near future.