Armenia gave Turkey time
"The joint statement was the best way of giving Turkey time. The Armenian side signed the statement without realizing that one of the expectations and goals of Turkey was to pass the April 24 deadline," told "A1+" NA Deputy, member of the "Heritage" faction Stepan Safaryan in regard to the joint statement made by the Armenian and Turkish Foreign Affairs Ministries and the Swiss Foreign Affairs Federative Department.
"Instead of using the Turks fear of April 24 and Obama's address for serious promises and steps, Armenian diplomats did the opposite. After the unacceptable statements, the Armenian side agreed to simply give time to Turkey without responding to the statements and demanding explications," said Stepan Safaryan and clarified that the sides will convince the international community that the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide should not interfere in the process that has begun with new agreements and the comprehensive framework which the sides are working on.
"Two days ago Ali Babacan made Turkey's strategy almost clear and said that Turkey is discussing all issues that need to be discussed or expects to be discussed. That is definitely a lie because historic and modern issues are circumvented and are put aside for future committees to solve in the best case scenario," says Stepan Safaryan. He went on to say that the discussion of those issues will require a lot of time.
"Even if the Turkish side includes those issues in its agenda, they will take years to solve and Turkey will use the time given by Armenia and flaws to prevent pressure that could have seriously promoted improvement of Turkish-Armenian relations."
According to Stepan Safaryan, the important thing now is for Armenian diplomats to be very careful when it comes to such negotiations.
"The U.S. and the international community must understand that not recognizing the Armenian Genocide and not using the term genocide does not help solve the issues; rather, it allows Turkey to show a more unserious approach to these relations. The U.S. will stimulate the process if the president pronounces the word genocide and the fact of genocide is recognized through a resolution. The U.S. administration will always use that against Turkey, while recognition of genocide will encourage Turkey to enter the process of normalization without preconditions, not bargaining Turkish-Armenian relations and showing that it has revised its policy on Armenia."
