CIAO DATE: 06/2010
April 2010
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Armenia and Turkey have embarked on a historic normalization process, but it is now in trouble and the United States needs to take a lead in rescuing it. If Armenia and Turkey succeed in opening their closed border it will transform the South Caucasus region. But Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally and the losing side to Armenia in the Nagorny Karabakh conflict, has understandable fears. The international community must invest more resources in resolving the Karabakh conflict and breaking the regional deadlock it has created. The annual debate over the use of the word genocide to describe the fate of the Ottoman Armenians in 1915 has turned into an ugly bargaining process. It is time to take a longer view. President Obama should look ahead to the centenary of the tragedy in 2015 and encourage Turks to take part in commemorating the occasion.
Resource link: Armenia and Turkey: Bridging the Gap [PDF] - 638K