Türkei und Armenien: Offener Geist, offene Grenzen

Politiker in Drittstaaten sollten alles tun, um das gegenseitige Vertrauen zwischen der Türkei und Armenien zu stärken, so ein Bericht der International Crisis Group, der im April veröffentlicht wurde. 

„In 2008, Turkey and Armenia took substantial steps towards reconciliation that may soon lead them to establish diplomatic relations and open borders,“ according to the International Crisis Group (ICG).

These steps „can immediately create new constituencies invested in a peaceful future for Turks and Armenians and more prosperity in both countries,“ it argues.

The report examines how a decade of academic and civil society outreach laid the foundations for what is now intense official engagement between the two governments.

„Reconciliation with Armenia would do much to underline the sincerity of [Turkey’s] EU ambitions and add new credibility to its rising profile as an energetic regional power,“ the ICG writes.

The two sides are now close to agreement on a package deal that will set up bilateral commissions, including one on the joint historical dimensions of the Armenia-Turkey relationship. The latter commission will work to broaden understanding of the Ottoman era’s forced relocations and massacres of Armenians, widely recognised as the Armenian genocide.

Turkey contests the term ‚genocide‘ but many Turks, including officials, now publicly express regret over the tragic loss of Armenian life in 1915.

„Turks‘ and Armenians‘ once uncompromising views of history are significantly converging, showing that the deep traumas can be healed,“ according to Hugh Pope, director of the ICG’s Turkey/Cyprus project. „At this sensitive time, third parties should avoid statements or resolutions in the politicised debate over genocide recognition or denial that could inflame opinion on either side.“

„Armenian and Turkish civil society and academics are moving towards common understanding of what happened as the Ottoman Empire collapsed and should be helped in their endeavours,“ the report continues.

The United States, Russia and the EU should „support as requested any new bilateral historical commission or sub-commission, development of archive management and independent Turkish- or Armenian-led scholarly endeavours to research into aspects of the 1915 events,“ it suggests.

„Turkey and Armenia should finalise their agreement and thus create new momentum for peace and cooperation in the South Caucasus,“ writes Sabine Freizer, director of the ICG’s Europe programme.

„They should not wait until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is settled. But outside powers such as the US, EU, Russia and others should build on their rare common interest to move both Turkish-Armenian normalisation and the Nagorno-Karabakh process forward.“

The report recommends the United States, Russia and the European Union to „avoid legislation, statements and actions that might inflame public opinion on either side and so could upset the momentum towards Turkey-Armenia normalisation and reconciliation“.

„There also needs to be a focus on the present and the future, which can be demonstrably improved by the steps currently being taken by both Turkey and Armenia,“ it concludes.