THE divisions between neighbors Turkey and Armenia are deep and bitter. Their common border is closed. They have no diplomatic relations. It is, therefore, all the more significant that Turkish President Abdullah Gül has accepted an invitation from his Armenian opposite number to go to Armenia tomorrow to watch the Turkish and Armenian football teams compete in a World Cup qualifier match.
While football-mad Turks will doubtless be interested in the outcome of the game — in which Turkey has to be favorite — its diplomats will be looking carefully at what feelers the Armenians are putting out and whether they are seeking to normalize relations and have Ankara lift the trade embargo, imposed as a result of Yerevan’s post-independence dispute with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Nationalist opinion in Turkey has been outraged that Gül accepted the Armenian invitation. There was still the outside chance last night that his visit might not take place. But those who deplore the move are wrong because improved relations, even at a modest diplomatic level, could address some of the issues that most Turks find so vexing.
In particular, the Armenian insistence on branding as genocide, the widespread killing between 1915 and 1917 of Armenian Turks as a result of a Russian Bolshevik-inspired insurrection, rankles with every modern Turk. Turks do not deny that many lives were lost but point out that the slain also included Turks caught up in the rebellion. Oddly what Turks do no point out is that there are reliable third party reports attesting much of the killing in Eastern Ottoman Turkey was done by Kurds, who had long been bitter rivals of the local Armenians.
Armenians are not easily going to abandon claims that have almost become part of their national identity. But at the same time, since independence Armenia has proved an economic basket case, not helped by internal political rivalries and Russian interference, such as occasionally cutting off power supplies.
A hundred years ago, Armenians, along with Greeks and Jews enjoyed a respected place in Ottoman society. Although some ethnic Turks resented the commercial success of their minorities, they could and did work together successfully. Since the economic reforms 25 years ago, Turks have proved that they too can be dynamic and successful at business and commerce. It, therefore, makes no sense to have a closed border with a neighbor with whom they could trade.
Nothing is going to undo the tragedies that took place among all communities in its eastern provinces as Ottoman Turkey fought for survival against Allied invaders. But the way this history is viewed can be changed. Armenians need no longer major on Turkish guilt while Turks should no longer have to bridle at allegations of genocide. The accusations of history are sterile. The modern world is where both countries are living and that demands healthy diplomatic and trade relations. If tomorrow’s football match were to be the start of an inevitably long and difficult rapprochement, then Turks, Armenians and the wider region would all ultimately benefit.
