This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 000434 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CACEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PBTS AM TU UNHRC
SUBJECT: ARMENIA'S PLANS FOR APRIL 24 COMMEMORATION, STATUS 
OF RELATIONS WITH TURKEY 
 
Sensitive but Unclassified, Please Treat Accordingly. 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Armenian Foreign Minister Oskanian convoked chiefs 
of mission resident in Yerevan March 10 to preview events 
planned in April to mark "Genocide Memorial Day."  The two 
main events will be an academic conference, April 21-22, 
featuring several American scholars, and the April 24 formal 
commemoration ceremonies.  Oskanian said that invitations had 
gone out to foreign dignitaries to attend the events, but was 
quick to add that foreign attendance at the events would not 
be construed by Yerevan as "legal acceptance of the fact of 
the 1915 genocide," and that it would not be a 
"Turkey-bashing" event.   Oskanian also circulated a 
non-paper about Turkish-Armenian relations focusing on the 
border issue, which he termed "more immediate" than questions 
of history.  Overall, he was at pains to stress the need for 
reconciliation and constructive cooperation with Turkey, 
where he sensed that some evolution in civil society on 
Armenian issues was to be seen.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (SBU) Looking fully recuperated from his recent bout of 
pneumonia, Vartan Oskanian led with his main points: 1) that 
attendance by foreign officials at the April 24 observance 
would not be construed by Armenia as legal recognition of the 
1915 events as "genocide," and 2) that the commemoration 
would not be a Turkey-bashing event; in fact, there would be 
a number of Turkish participants present. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Oskanian said that in his estimation things were 
changing in Turkey.  Civil society was more open than it had 
been even five years earlier, and the process of EU accession 
 promised to bring about further evolution.  Armenia expected 
two issues to be on the agenda for the accession 
negotiations:  genocide recognition and the border issue. 
The first issue was not only an issue for the Armenian 
Diaspora, but for the Armenian nation as a whole; the second 
was of immediate importance to the citizens of the Republic 
of Armenia, which was ready for reconciliation and 
constructive cooperation with Turkey 
 
¶4. (SBU) Asked whether Armenia's quest for "historical 
justice" might be seen in Ankara as opening up territorial 
claims, Oskanian repeated what he has said before, that any 
issues of concern to Turkey could be addressed in the 
protocol establishing diplomatic relations, and that the 
Republic of Armenia, as a successor state to the USSR, 
accepted the Soviet-era treaties fixing the current border. 
As for genocide non-recognition, Oskanian termed this a moral 
issue that perpetuated for Armenians the pain already felt by 
descendants of survivors of 1915, but noted that the closed 
border was a more "immediate" concern.   He distributed a 
non-paper on Turkey-Armenia Relations (full text at para 7) 
that is aimed primarily at the border issue, and contains the 
points about Soviet-era agreements remaining in force, as 
well as a discussion of the founding documents of the 
Republic of Armenia that are sometimes cited as evidence of 
official Armenian territorial claims on Turkey. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Oskanian noted that he would be addressing the issue 
of the events of 1915 in his address to the Human Right 
Commission in Geneva on March 15. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Lebanese Ambassador asked if Armenia claimed 
that Armenians were the only ones who suffered during the 
collapse of the Ottoman Empire, recalling that some 600,000 
to 700,000 Lebanese had also perished.  Oskanian said he made 
no claims of exclusivity. 
 
¶7. (U) Begin text of March 10 Armenian Government non-paper 
on Armenia-Turkey Relations (please note internal numbering). 
 
TURKEY-ARMENIA RELATIONS 
 
The continuing closure of the Armenia-Turkey border 
contradicts the spirit of the European Union.  It also goes 
counter to international treaties and customary international 
law. 
 
Since Armenia's independence, the Turkey-Armenia border has 
been closed.  There has been no land link between Armenia and 
Turkey - not by rail, nor by road.  As far as Armenia is 
concerned, the border can be and ought to be open, despite 
the problems that exist between the two countries.  Almost 
every pair of neighboring countries in the world has such 
problems, and resolves them through dialogue.  Armenia has 
always expressed a readiness to negotiate through our 
differences, and not turn them into pre-conditions, or 
barriers. 
 
Turkey, on the other hand, insists on unilateral moves from 
Armenia.  Their explanations for the continuing lack of 
relations revolve around one or several of the following: 1) 
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, 2) the Genocide of 1915, and 
3) territorial issues. 
 
1) Nagorno Karabakh conflict 
 
The Turkish condition:  The Nagorno Karabakh conflict must be 
resolved, or at the very least, territories (outside Nagorno 
Karabakh proper) under "Armenian control" must be returned to 
Azerbaijan. 
 
Armenia's response:  Those territories, acquired during war, 
now serve as a buffer zone, ensuring a balance, enabling the 
ceasefire, preventing resumption of military activities. 
They are all part of a package that has to be negotiated - a 
package that includes, first and foremost, the status and 
security of Nagorno Karabakh.  Isolating one item - 
territories - and demanding that they be returned, without 
addressing the rest of the issues is disingenuous.  Further, 
the Nagorno Karabakh issue is between Armenians and 
Azerbaijan.  Turkey is a sovereign, independent third 
country.  Its involvement in this issue is based on ethnic 
solidarity.  But although Turkey's support of Azerbaijan is 
understandable, the manner of its support goes counter to 
accepted international practice and customary law.  Even in 
the case of Cyprus, where Greeks are in strong solidarity 
with their Cypriot brothers, the existence of Turkish troops 
in Northern Cyprus has not kept either the Greeks, or for 
that matter the Turks, from continuing to maintain diplomatic 
relations with each other, even in the face of the most 
vocal, visible manifestation of ethnic solidarity by each 
side.  They continue to both voice and iron out their 
differences.  They are able to do so exactly because they 
have diplomatic relations and open borders.  There are many 
other such examples in the world. 
 
2) The Armenian Genocide of 1915 
 
The Turkish condition:  Armenians must drop the Genocide 
issue, and must halt their efforts in international 
organizations and with individual countries to achieve 
international recognition of the Genocide. 
 
Armenia's response:  Armenia and Armenians cannot drop, 
forget or deny the Genocide of Armenians in 1915 in the 
Ottoman Empire.  All Armenians - in Armenia and the Diaspora 
-- are engaged in the matter of Genocide recognition.  That 
process is an independent process and has a long history, 
going back to before Armenia's independence.  On the other 
hand, Armenians - the victims of that Genocide - have never 
demanded Genocide recognition, by Turkey or any one else, as 
a pre-condition for normal relations with Turkey.  Instead, 
Armenia is ready to take up normal relations and make it 
possible for the two societies to discuss, differ, convince, 
agree, argue, reconcile these and other matters between them. 
 Regardless of historical realities, difficulties, even 
animosities, the two peoples are destined to live next door 
to each other.  The establishment of relations will make it 
possible to freely, democratically, discuss even these 
difficult issues that have been inherited from the past. 
There are hardly any two neighboring countries in the world 
which don't have difficult historical issues between them. 
Yet, none of these has resulted in closed borders. 
 
3) Territorial Issues 
 
The Turkish condition:  Armenians must unilaterally affirm 
Turkey's territorial integrity and renounce territorial 
claims against Turkey. 
 
Armenia's  response:  Armenia is the successor state of the 
Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic.  All of the agreements 
which the ASSR signed continue to be in force unless new 
agreements have been signed to replace them, or unless 
statements have been made about not recognizing those 
agreements.  These agreements are still in force and have not 
been renounced.  In addition, upon establishing diplomatic 
relations, the protocol that is signed can explicitly mention 
respect for each other's territorial integrity, 
noninterference and sovereignty. 
 
Turkey also claims that there are territorial claims embedded 
in the Republic's founding documents.  The relevant passages 
from the Constitution (which cites the Declaration of 
Independence just once) and from the Declaration itself are 
given below.  The reader can judge for himself whether these 
paragraphs amount to territorial claims. 
 
======================================= 
Constitution of the Republic of Armenia 
======================================= 
 
The Armenian People, Recognizing as a basis the fundamental 
principles of Armenian statehood and the national aspirations 
engraved in the Declaration of Independence of Armenia, 
Having fulfilled the sacred legacy of its freedom loving 
ancestors for the restoration of the sovereign state, 
Committed to the strengthening and prosperity of the 
fatherland. 
 
============================================= ======= 
Declaration of Independence 
The Supreme Council of the Armenian Soviet Socialist 
Republic 
 
(Preamble) 
Expressing the united will of the Armenian people; 
Aware of its historic responsibility for the destiny of the 
Armenian people engaged in the realization of the aspirations 
of all Armenians and the restoration of historical justice; 
(Article 11) The Republic of Armenia stands in support of the 
task of achieving international recognition of the 1915 
Genocide in Ottoman Turkey and Western Armenia. 
 
============================================= ======= 
 
 
Importance of Open Borders 
 
The importance of open borders goes beyond the obvious 
economic, regional and security factors.  Open Armenia-Turkey 
borders will directly decrease Armenian security concerns and 
will create a more favorable context within which to seek a 
resolution for the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.  Turkey, too, 
will become more credibly engaged in the process and in other 
regional developments. 
 
Armenians and Turks will be able to together discuss and 
explore their common history.  More importantly, they will be 
able to transcend it together and move forward together. 
 
The European Neighborhood policy will become truly meaningful 
and will make it possible for the region to truly engage with 
and integrate with the European Union, contribute to Europe's 
prosperity, and become an equal and promising European 
partner. 
 
 
Yerevan 
March 10, 2005 
 
End Text. 
EVANS