Frank Engel: it is not Armenia that keeps the border closed

March 19, 2010 - 18:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - If Turkey is serious about normalizing formal relations - opening the border, re-establish diplomatic relations - I don't see how this process would not be significantly beneficial to both countries, and their peoples, according to Frank Engel, a member of the Europe-Armenia Advisory Council.

"There are encouraging signs that relations between Turks and Armenians don't have to remain strained forever. The existing transport links, the presence of a sizeable Armenian community in Turkey, for instance, tell me that ordinary Turks and Armenians essentially aspire to normal relations. However, with borders closed and no diplomatic missions, this aspiration is rather difficult to fulfill. The more extreme populist stances on both sides don't help either. Parts of the Armenian diaspora should start by recognizing this," he told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

Asked whether an Turkey open the border this year, Mr. Engel said, "Of course it can. This is not a matter of feasibility, but of willingness to do it. Of course, potent internal Turkish interests still oppose this move, and as I said, extremist Armenian views are not helpful at all on the other side. The question is if Turkey wants to break the deadlock through a powerful gesture. It is not Armenia that keeps the border closed."

The Armenian-Turkish Protocols

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.

Commenting on the CC ruling, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “it contains preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and spirit of the Protocols.” ”The decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach cannot be accepted on our part. Turkey, in line with its accustomed allegiance to its international commitments, maintains its adherence to the primary provisions of these Protocols. We expect the same allegiance from the Armenian government,” the Ministry said.