Armenia-Turkey Protocols Must be Kept Alive: Thomas de Waal

A year after the signing of the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, Thomas de Waal, a senior associate in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, published an article in which he states that the Protocols are the most positive initiative that occurred in the South Caucasus in the last few years.

The Protocols must be kept alive since the process still has the possibility of bringing changes in the region, writes de Waal, adding that the process might be revived in the summer of 2011, after elections in Turkey.

“That’s why it’s important for the parties to work toward keeping the process alive till then,” he said, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Armenia). 

The analyst also places importance on taking steps toward resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, since, according to him, that was the main reason for hindering development in Armenia-Turkey relations and the international community must pay more attention to the conflict, to deflect the deadlock that’s been created in the region. 

If the process returns to its former course, all interested parties, including the United States, should  put more long-term goals, says de Waal. The centennial of the Armenian Genocide, in 2015, can be the time before which a goal can be made to improve Armenia-Turkey relations, he writes.

At the end of the report, de Waal says that even if the borders remain closed, solutions are possible. In his opinion, Turkey must be more restrained and shouldn’t attempt to take on the role of mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. 

One of the positive steps would be that Armenia restores communication between Nakhchevan and Azerbaijan through its territory, as well as provide electricity to Turkey’s border regions (such as Kars, Igdir, and Van). Turkey, in turn, should provide unrestricted access to the historic border regions, such as Ani, so that Armenias can have access to their historic lands. Those steps which, according to de Waal, Turkey must take include opening the Ottoman archives and destroying the Talat Pasha Monument.

The analyst also notes that about 50,000 Armenians are Turkish citizens, not to mention the Republic of Armenia citizens who work illegally in Turkey, who can become a link connecting the two — Armenian and Turkish — societies.