Road Map to regulate Turkish-Armenian relations

On April 23 the result of the Swiss-brokered negotiations between Armenia and Turkey became known: a so-called Road Map for the reconciliation of the two countries has been elaborated.

The document suggests there are good prospects for developing a closer relationship between the two countries. Armenian officials have not so far made public the details of the document, but on April 24 Turkish newspaper Sabah published the major principles outlined in the road map: 1 - Armenia takes responsibility for ratifying the Kars agreement, 2 - the border between Armenia and Turkey is opened, 3 - both countries open diplomatic representations in each other’s capitals, 4 - the road map should be approved by the countries’ Parliaments and 5 – a ‘historic commission’ should be established.

The newspaper adds that a special agreement has been reached on the Karabakh issue, as the implementation of the road map is connected with the regulation of Karabakh conflict. The Armenian Foreign Ministry has commented that the media reports are trustworthy if their information comes from official sources.

Certain steps should be taken immediately as an expression of goodwill from both sides. However on April 20 Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan said that the Turkish-Armenian border will not be opened until the Karabakh conflict is resolved.