YEREVAN (A.W.)—On Dec. 12, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Yerevan to attend the 29th meeting of the Foreign Ministers’ Council of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) organization. Davutoglu also met with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandian.
A scene from the Davutoglu-Nalbandian meeting
According to a statement released by the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two discussed the future activities of the BSEC. Nalbandian also “reaffirmed Armenia’s principled position of Armenia on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations without any preconditions”—a statement Nalbandian repeated later to journalists, adding, “Turkey linking normalization with other issues makes no sense and won’t yield any results.”
The meeting between Nalbandian and Davutoglu reportedly lasted well over an hour.
Attendees to the BSEC meeting discussed cooperation in various areas, including transportation, trade, energy, education, and communication.
Following the meeting, Davutoglu gave a press conference to only Turkish media representatives, who quoted him as saying that it had been “quite a warm and open atmosphere.” Despite some disagreements, he added, it was important for them to meet more frequently.
Davutoglu in Yerevan
“Turkey and Armenia are neighbors, so we would like the relations to be on a high level to enable the sides to establish friendly relations,” Davutoglu was quoted as saying.
Prior to his departure to Yerevan, Davutoglu Tweeted about his visit. “I hope that my visit to Yerevan will contribute to comprehensive peace and stability efforts in the BSEC region and the Caucuses,” he wrote. “As Turkey, we will continue to make efforts to solve conflicts in the periphery.”
Protest against Davutoglu
Protesters gathered in front of the Marriott Hotel in Republic Square, where the meetings took place, forcing Davutoglu to enter through a back door. They held signs that read, “Stop occupation of Armenian lands,” “Stop denial of Turkish history,” “Recognition,” and “Reparation.”
A scene from the protest
The protest, organized by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Nigol Aghbalian Student Organization, attracted a diverse group of Yerevan residents. The protesters sang patriotic songs and shouted slogans urging Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide and to make reparations for the crime.
Artur Ghazarian, a member of the ARF’s Yerevan office said Davutoglu’s visit to Armenia was an opportunity to remind Turkey “of our claims—recognition, condemnation and reparations.”
“Turkey proved yet again that it is scared to face its own history; it’s afraid to look into the eyes of the heirs of Armenian Genocide survivors,” said Gerasim Vardanyan, chairman of the ARF Nigol Aghbalian Student Organization.
“By this action the [youth and student] organizations express their protest saying STOP genocide, STOP denialism, STOP falsification of history, and STOP injustice,” said an action-alert by the ARF Student Organization.