Status of Turkish-Armenian Accord

March 9, 2010
On October 10, 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed two interrelated protocols, The Protocol on the Development of Relations and the Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton assisted in mediating the Swiss-brokered protocols, which were agreed to in principle on April 22.
 
Among other provisions, the protocols include:
 
* Setting up a joint committee of historians to research World War I-era archives to investigate the events of 1915 within four months of ratification of the agreement by both countries’ parliaments.
* Opening the countries’ common border within two months of ratification. Turkey closed its border with Armenia and cut ties in 1993 after Armenia invaded Nagorno-Karabakh, an ethnically Armenian enclave in Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan.

Steps Following Signing of Protocol
October 11, 2009: One day after the deal was signed, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that it could not be ratified until Armenia withdrew from Nagorno-Karabakh. This condition, however, had not been mentioned in the agreement itself.
October 14, 2009: Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian made an unprecedented visit to Turkey for a World Cup qualifying match between the two countries’ national teams, as part of an ongoing effort at “soccer diplomacy.” Sarkisian is the first Armenian president to visit Turkey on a bilateral visit.
November 22, 2009: Sarkisian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, met in Munich for talks on Nagorno-Karabakh one day after Aliyev threatened military action should negotiations fail.
January 12, 2010: The Armenian Constitutional Court approved the agreement on the condition that the agreement may not contradict the state’s declaration of independence, which includes attaining worldwide recognition of the events of 1915 as genocide.
January 18, 2010: The Turkish Foreign Ministry rejected the Armenian courts’ decision of January 12, stating that it “contains preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and spirit of the Protocols.”

February 12, 2010: Sarkisian submitted the protocols to Armenia’s parliament for approval. The protocols had been submitted to Turkish parliament at that time, but had not been put on the agenda or discussed.
February 25, 2010: Sarkisian and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met in Kiev, Ukraine to discuss Turkish-Armenian relations, among other topics. Sarkisian warned that Armenia would withdraw from the protocols if Turkey did not implement the agreement. He had previously made similar comments.
* Neither country has yet ratified the protocols.



Subscribe to Middle East Progress Alerts

Support Middle East Progress

In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

Setting the Record Straight

Determined to Reach a Common Objective

“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

Middle East Analysis

Upcoming Events

The U.S. Agency for International Development and Conflict: Hard Lessons from the Field

May 17, 2011, 12:00pm – 1:15pm

From Afghanistan and Iraq to Pakistan, Somalia, and South Sudan, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is engaged daily in trying to help some of the most troubled nations on the planet make a lasting transition to stability, open markets, and democracy. Few areas of the agency’s work are more challenging or more controversial.

Join us for remarks by, and a roundtable with, the deputy administrator of USAID, Ambassador

more