ICG: "Turkey and Armenia should seize the opportunity to normalize relations"

The International Crisis Group (ICG), based in Brussels, yesterday released a report entitled "Turkey and Armenia: Opening Minds, Opening Borders" calling for both countries not to lose the opportunity to normalize relations. "Turkey and Armenia are close to settling a dispute that has long roiled Caucasus politics, isolated Armenia and cast a shadow over Turkey's European Union ambition," said the report. "For a decade and a half, relations have been poisoned by disagreement about issues including how to address a common past and compensate for crimes, territorial disputes, distrust bred in Soviet times and Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani land. But recently, progressively intense official engagement, civil society interaction and public opinion change have transformed the relationship, bringing both sides to the brink of an historic agreement to open borders, establish diplomatic ties and begin joint work on reconciliation. They should seize this opportunity to normalize." It added, "Over the past decade, Turkey has moved far from its former blanket denial of any Ottoman wrongdoing. Important parts of the ruling (Justice and Development) AK Party, bureaucracy, business communities on the Armenian border and liberal elite in Western cities support normalization with Armenia and some expression of contrition."