TURKEY ARMENIA BORDER
Metadata
- TURKEY ARMENIA BORDER
- January 18, 2022
- Content Type Package
- Language English
- Transcript/Script English TURKEY ARMENIA BORDER HEADLINE: Observers See Progress in Turkey Armenia Talks TEASER: As hopes grow for Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, analysts say renewed ties could mean changes in Iran’s and Russia’s roles in the region. PUBLISHED AT: 01/18/2022: 2:30pm BYLINE: Dorian Jones CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Istanbul VIDEOGRAPHER: Berke Bas DO NOT USE NAME FOR SECURITY REASONS, Pablo Gonzalez PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, MAS VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA ORIGINAL, AFP PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV __x RADIO __ TRT: 3:18 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG UPDATE: DO NOT USE BERKE BAS NAME FOR SECURITY REASONS)) ((INTRO)) [[Observers say they see signs of progress in efforts to reopen Turkey’s borders with Armenia, following talks in Moscow on normalizing relations. Ties have been cut since 1993 and analysts say renewing them could re-shape the region. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, both sides still need to overcome some obstacles.]] ((NARRATOR)) Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993, after Armenian forces seized Azeri territory in fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. ((NARRATOR)) But with Azeri forces recapturing their territory in 2020, some analysts say the door has opened to restoring Turkish-Armenian relations. ((RADIO VERSION: Sinan Ulgen is with the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, a research organization in Istanbul.)) ((Sinan Ulgen, Centre for Economics & Foreign Policy Studies - male in English)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype)) “Today there is no clear barrier between this rapprochement with Armenia and Turkey. Because as we recall, it was on account of the occupation of these territories in the 1990s -1993 to be specific - that Turkey had decided to close the border. So now that justification has disappeared, on top of that, there is also positive messaging from Baku about the Turkey Armenian rapprochement. ((NARRATOR)) The Turkish and Armenian envoys met in Moscow last week for normalization talks. Both sides described those talks as constructive. Reopening the border would help tens of thousands of Armenians working in Turkey, many of whom must make the arduous journey home by bus via neighboring Georgia. But history could be an obstacle to rapprochement efforts. Armenia accuses Ottoman rulers of committing genocide among Turkey’s Armenian minority during World War One. Ankara refuses to call it genocide and insists the deaths were part of the fallout of a civil war. But analysts suggest Yerevan does not want the past to threaten rapprochement efforts. ((RADIO VERSION: Richard Giragosian is director of Regional Studies Center.)) ((Richard Giragosian, Regional Studies Center Director - male in English)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype)) “It's a policy of no preconditions, meaning that normalization is not reconciliation. This is not about the Armenian genocide; this is simply the basic minimum of neighbors, establishing diplomatic relations and having open borders. Reconciliation will come later, with normalization as an important foundation.” ((NARRATOR)) Normalization of relations will help ease Ankara's strained ties with Washington, which has welcomed the diplomatic efforts. Congress has strongly criticized Turkey's policy which has hurt Armenia’s economy by denying the landlocked country access to the large Turkish market and transit routes, ((NARRATOR)) forcing Yerevan to depend on its Russian and Iranian neighbors. But some analysts say the reopening of the Turkish Armenian border could ease that dependency. ((Zaur Gasimo, Bonn University ((male in English)) “That would have a huge impact on the region with regard (to) easing of cooperation, of particularly communication so, and transportation. And the boost of cooperation between these two countries would diminish the role of Iran in the region entirely.” ((NARRATOR)) The announcement of new direct flights between Turkey and Armenia is the first fruit of rapprochement efforts. But clashes along the volatile Azeri-Armenian border last week left three dead, underscoring the risks that remain. ((Dorian Jones, for VOA News, Istanbul))
- Transcript/Script ((PLAYBOOK SLUG: TURKEY ARMENIA BORDER HEADLINE: Observers See Progress in Turkey Armenia Talks TEASER: As hopes grow for Turkish-Armenian rapprochement, analysts say renewed ties could mean changes in Iran’s and Russia’s roles in the region. PUBLISHED AT: 01/18/2022: 2:30pm BYLINE: Dorian Jones CONTRIBUTOR: DATELINE: Istanbul VIDEOGRAPHER: Berke Bas DO NOT USE NAME FOR SECURITY REASONS, Pablo Gonzalez PRODUCER: SCRIPT EDITORS: LR, MAS VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA ORIGINAL, AFP PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV __x RADIO __ TRT: 3:18 VID APPROVED BY: MAS TYPE: TVPKG UPDATE: DO NOT USE BERKE BAS NAME FOR SECURITY REASONS)) ((INTRO)) [[Observers say they see signs of progress in efforts to reopen Turkey’s borders with Armenia, following talks in Moscow on normalizing relations. Ties have been cut since 1993 and analysts say renewing them could re-shape the region. As Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul, both sides still need to overcome some obstacles.]] ((NARRATOR)) Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993, after Armenian forces seized Azeri territory in fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. ((NARRATOR)) But with Azeri forces recapturing their territory in 2020, some analysts say the door has opened to restoring Turkish-Armenian relations. ((RADIO VERSION: Sinan Ulgen is with the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies, a research organization in Istanbul.)) ((Sinan Ulgen, Centre for Economics & Foreign Policy Studies - male in English)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype)) “Today there is no clear barrier between this rapprochement with Armenia and Turkey. Because as we recall, it was on account of the occupation of these territories in the 1990s -1993 to be specific - that Turkey had decided to close the border. So now that justification has disappeared, on top of that, there is also positive messaging from Baku about the Turkey Armenian rapprochement. ((NARRATOR)) The Turkish and Armenian envoys met in Moscow last week for normalization talks. Both sides described those talks as constructive. Reopening the border would help tens of thousands of Armenians working in Turkey, many of whom must make the arduous journey home by bus via neighboring Georgia. But history could be an obstacle to rapprochement efforts. Armenia accuses Ottoman rulers of committing genocide among Turkey’s Armenian minority during World War One. Ankara refuses to call it genocide and insists the deaths were part of the fallout of a civil war. But analysts suggest Yerevan does not want the past to threaten rapprochement efforts. ((RADIO VERSION: Richard Giragosian is director of Regional Studies Center.)) ((Richard Giragosian, Regional Studies Center Director - male in English)) ((Mandatory cg: Skype)) “It's a policy of no preconditions, meaning that normalization is not reconciliation. This is not about the Armenian genocide; this is simply the basic minimum of neighbors, establishing diplomatic relations and having open borders. Reconciliation will come later, with normalization as an important foundation.” ((NARRATOR)) Normalization of relations will help ease Ankara's strained ties with Washington, which has welcomed the diplomatic efforts. Congress has strongly criticized Turkey's policy which has hurt Armenia’s economy by denying the landlocked country access to the large Turkish market and transit routes, ((NARRATOR)) forcing Yerevan to depend on its Russian and Iranian neighbors. But some analysts say the reopening of the Turkish Armenian border could ease that dependency. ((Zaur Gasimo, Bonn University ((male in English)) “That would have a huge impact on the region with regard (to) easing of cooperation, of particularly communication so, and transportation. And the boost of cooperation between these two countries would diminish the role of Iran in the region entirely.” ((NARRATOR)) The announcement of new direct flights between Turkey and Armenia is the first fruit of rapprochement efforts. But clashes along the volatile Azeri-Armenian border last week left three dead, underscoring the risks that remain. ((Dorian Jones, for VOA News, Istanbul))
- NewsML Media Topics Conflict, War and Peace, Politics
- Topic Tags Armeny, Turkey
- Network VOA
- Embargo Date January 18, 2022 16:31 EST
- Brand / Language Service US Agency for Global Media