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Sabine Freizer: Expecting the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to go hand in hand with Turkey-Armenian reconciliation is short-sighted

17 October 2009 10:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Viktoria Dementieva â€“ APA. â€œExpecting the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to go hand in hand with Turkey-Armenian reconciliation is short-sighted,â€ Sabine Freizer, Director of Europe Program of the International Crisis Group, writes in her article about Turkey-Armenia relations, APA reports.
â€œArmenia may well use Turkeyâ€™s public linking of the two processes to take a harder line in the Nagorno-Karabakh negotiations, knowing full well that if Turkeyâ€™s parliament refuses to ratify the protocols because of Nagorno-Karabakh, then it will be internationally condemned. If the ratification and implementation of the protocols go forward, however, improved Turkey-Armenia relations can help lay the foundation for gradual confidence building between Armenia and Azerbaijan, break Armeniaâ€™s regional isolation and contribute to diminish Armenian security fears,â€ she writes.

Sabine Freizer writes that Turkey can contribute to the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by working with its Azerbaijani and Armenian cousins to break down negative perceptions, facilitate links and restore communication. Then all three sides can win.
â€œThe 10 October protocol signing ceremony was not only the fruit of years of gradual confidence building and quiet mediation by the Swiss foreign ministry, but also the success of French, Russian and United States foreign ministersâ€™ engagement the day of the event. Ultimately progress towards the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict will require similar high level engagement,â€ Sabine Freizer writes.