Anyway, an interesting comment which might mean people won’t get out of hand here. Still, even if they did burn a Turkish flag or two, who would notice? A one-liner or a paragraph in a newspaper article.

The main event is of far more significance. As for the photo of the ARF-D burning a Turkish flag in Liberty Square (despite saying they would not), a pop-up comes up with the date on mouse over, and people can click through.

Nothing sensationalist, misleading or irresponsible at all. Even so, given this comment and the fact that the ARF-D are part of the government (and could really resign if they felt so strongly about a possible visit by Gul), I guess they’re not going to do much.

Let them protest, let them burn the flag even, but let’s not disrupt the match and what could be an unprecedent opportunity to open a new chapter in Armenian-Turkish relations.

That blog is sensationalistic, misleading and irresponsible at best. They can’t hide their contempt of the ARF. If one were not to read it carefully one would assume that the flag burning picture is happening now. It is from April.

Yes, let us burn their flag but not during the visit. There will be millions of reporters and video cameras, the events will be broadcast live. Any ugliness will be shown to the world over and over again.
Yes, let us burn their flag but after the dust has settled so to speak, when we can get our message across louder and clearer. Otherwise they will win the “match” 1.5 million to zero.

As Yervant said in another thread, “Football Diplomacy” let us show our hospitality and dispel that “ugly Armenian” picture that they feed their unsuspecting (suspecting) masses day in and day out..

http://hyeforum.com/index.php?showtopic=18608&pid=248599&st=0&#entry248599

YEREVAN, AUGUST 29, ARMENPRESS: Below is the interview of president of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, to the Turkish daily Radikal.

Q: The 2010 World Cup qualifier between the national teams of Armenia and Turkey, scheduled for September 6 in Yerevan, is probably the most politicized sporting event in our region. In terms of politics what were your expectations when you invited Turkish president Abdullah Gul to Yerevan to watch the game together?

A: My number one goal was to normalize the relations between our countries. Mr. Gul’s congratulation message upon my election said about the opportunities of normalizing the relations between Armenia and Turkey. Later on Prime Minister Erdogan stated that Turkey is open to a dialogue with Armenia. In return, I decided to use this opportunity. There is a good sports event ahead. It is the first time in the history our football teams will meet. It may become a good opportunity for us to develop our relations. The result of the game is not important, anyways I hope it will be a pleasure for the fans. There excitement will be great. This will be a big and exclusive event in our relations, and I hope it will become more special due to the presence of the Armenian and Turkish presidents. We are neighbors and will remains so. I am sure having normal relations will benefit both the countries. My invitation to Mr. Gul shall be considered in this context.

Q: There are some concerns in Ankara about this invitation. How, for example the problem of the borders is to be solved and how president Gul will be received in Armenia. Do you share these concerns?

A: There is nothing to worry about. If we have invited a president of a foreign state, we are able to provide everything on a due level.

Q: I have met with some representatives of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Party, who are against your invitation. They said they will so everything to be heard in case president Gul arrives in Yerevan.

A: I am sure their means to express themselves will remain in terms appropriate for an official visit. Not being politically correct they will first harm themselves, Armenia and me, then Mr. Gul.

Q: What do you think about the regional power engineering and communication projects realized by Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, which, in case of peace and stability in the region, might be very profitable? Would Armenia like to join those projects? Do you think that some day you will be received in Turkey in the same way as the leaders of Azerbaijan and Georgia are, and the leaders of Turkey will have doubts to accept invitations from Armenia?

A: By now I have learned two things about regional cooperation projects. First, in case not all the countries of the region are involved, or one of them is excluded, the projects do nothing but create new dividing lines. Second, when political aspects of the project outscore the economic ones, the projects usually turn out not as successful as it they meant to be. It is something similar to harnessing a horse from behind the cart.

Q: Which project do you mean?

A: The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad, for example. Doesn’t such railroad already exist? It can be made operational again with minimum expenses. A lot is being spent to leave Armenia out. In the past the leaders of Armenia visited Turkey. I too, in different offices, have been to Turkey. Reciprocal visits between neighbors are quite a normal thing, and they should not be deemed as some kind of courtesy to the opposite party. Our efforts are aimed at that.

Q: When the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway was launched, president Gul in the presence of Aliyev and Saakashvili said that Armenia could join this project in case of respecting the international law. Do you think he hinted at the borders defined by the 1921 agreement of Kars?

A: I think Mr. Gul would give a better answer to that question. I can only assure that Armenia supports the regulations of the UN, as well as other international treaties, it respects its own international commitments.

Q: Well, I shall phrase my question more precisely. There are some parties in Armenia that refer to a part of Turkey as Western Armenia and, basing on the Sevres Treaty, have territorial claims from Turkey. Do you admit that it is difficult to have full-fledged diplomatic relations with a neighbor which argues your borders? What is your official opinion about the legitimateness and recognition of the agreement of Kars?

A: I can hardly remember any Armenian official to make territorial claims on Turkey. But I can always hear that from Turkey. I don’t think it is right to base upon single statements. If so, there are many people in Turkey who assure that in fact there is no Armenia at all. We do not need any pre-conditions to establish relations with Turkey. I know about the anxiety of Turkish officials regarding the phrasings like Western and Eastern Armenia. It seems strange to me. Western and Eastern Armenia are geographical terms used in the 19th century. Trying to forget those expressions, coming from the past, is equal to trying to deny the existence of Sparta, the Russian Empire, the Ottoman Empire or other historical facts. If we had assumed that official policy, we would have called our country Republic of Eastern Armenia, not Republic of Armenia. None of the Armenian officials spoke such things. Russia, for example, has territorial issues with China and Japan, but it doesn’t prevent those states from having normal diplomatic relations.

Q: After your invitation to Gul, very serious things as the Russia-Georgia conflict happened in Caucasus. What do you think about Russia’s assistance to South Ossetia and Abkhazia, which separated from Georgia?

A: In fact tragic events happened. People were killed. It showed what can arms race result in such cases. We advocate settling such issues through peace negotiations. We also advocate respecting peoples’ right to self-expression and self-determination. It s regretful that things take such a turn and of course we do not like it. We believe that the joint plan of the Presidents of Russia and France, Medvedev and Sarkozy, will bring peace and stability. Peace and stability are very important to us. Putting everything aside, 70% of Armenian trade is made through Georgia.

Q: Yerevan experienced problems with fuel because of the railway bridge in Georgia blown up by the Russians, is that so?

A: Yes, it is. We hope the problem will be solved in two days. The instability in the region is against Armenia. It displays very well how we need stability. Prolonging the instable situation for three more months or years would multiply our problems.

Q: Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian already approved Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s initiative on Caucasian Stability and Partnership Platform. Can you give any details on Armenia’s policy in this question?

A: Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian expressed positive attitude to Erdogan’s initiative on regional stability, security and dialogue. I think the Foreign Minister took right actions. After we receive the proposal we will discuss it in details and announce our opinion.

Q: Do you think that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is a very important issue in your relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey, may soon be settled? Do you think that making a peace agreement with Azerbaijan will raise political and economic cooperation in the region onto a new level?

A: We had a productive meeting with President Aliyev in Saint Petersburg on June 6. Both of us ordered our Foreign Ministers to proceed the work in accord with the principles adopted in Madrid. There have been three meetings since then. I hope we’ll find a solution soon.

Q: Can you suggest an approximate date?

A: It would be wrong to predict anything before the presidential elections in Azerbaijan. We shall see what happens after the elections.

Q: Do you draw parallels between Nagorno-Karabakh, South Ossetia and Abkhazia? I ask this because you said that people’s right for self-determination should be always respected.

A: All the conflicts have something in common and something different. I prefer making ourselves lessons out of them instead of focusing on similarities and differences. I can clearly see that efforts to solve such issues with military force result in unpredictable and complicated consequences. I would like to know how many people knew the results of the conflict before starting it. We have to be very cautious.

Q: From outside it seems that the Turkish-Armenian relations are in stalemate because of the Genocide issue. Do you think it is right? Do you think Armenia-Turkey relations cannot progress until Turkey recognizes the tragic events of 1915 as genocide? Is it a pre-condition?

A: You can hardly find an Armenian in the world who does not believe the Genocide took place. But the recognition of the Genocide is not a pre-condition for establishing dialogue with Turkey. That is why we say that we are ready to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey without any pre-condition.

Q: What is your opinion about making a historians’ commission to study the 1915 events? Do you think it is possible to have two commissions, one for normalizing the relations and another for studying the 1915 events? Do you think they can work at the same time?

A: I think we need to elaborate new approaches to this issue. For I cannot remember a non-governmental commission to be ever established to settle an intergovernmental issue. The best way is to start diplomatic relations. In that case numbers of substructures and groups may be established in the frameworks of the Armenian-Turkish intergovernmental commission. Earlier a similar commission was found in the USA. Did it work? Its necessary to create a proper environment for the functioning of the scientific commission you suggested. Therefore normal diplomatic relations are bare necessity.

Q. Do you believe that the ongoing confidential meetings of Armenian and Turkish diplomats will yield any outcome?

A. I would never support them if I believed they would not. But on the other hand I believe that the course of relations shows that we, the leaders of the two countries, have reached the decision-making point. They are not going to be easy ones. Not all Armenians or Turks will like them. But I am sure that the overwhelming part of both societies will support those decisions. I do not mean the diplomats’ efforts, by the overall atmosphere. Abdullah Gul’s congratulatory message, Erdogan’s words, my invitation to Gul, even the interview with you are parts of this atmosphere. In this sense I believe that we have reached the decision-making stage.

Q. Will Gul’s decision to come or not to Yerevan effect that situation?

A. I think his visit will be important. Because it is not easy to make important decisions. Addressing an audience and looking in the eyes of the one before you are different things. If I did not believe it was important I would not send the invitation. We had difficult times in our history, however Armenia is ready for development of relations and expects the same from Turkey.

Armenia expects 5,000 Turks for football game

Friday, August 29, 2008

At least 5,000 Turkish football fans were expected to visit Armenia for their teams’ World Cup qualifying round game in Yerevan, a high official in Armenian football said.

Armen Melikbekyan, vice president of the Armenian Football Federation, said he learned from contact with the Turkish Football Federation that Armenians had learned that Turkish fans have a great interest in the game, which is to take place Sept. 6.

There were places reserved for Turkish fans at the Hrazdan Stadium in Yerevan and that Armenian officials would facilitate Turks’ arrival to the country, Melikbekyan said in an interview in the latest edition of the Turkish-based Armenian weekly Agos.

“We have no problems with the Turkish Football Federation and we are informed that Turks are eager to watch the match,” said Melikbekyan. “The ones who will go to the game will not need to get visas and they will not pay the fee of $50 for entrance to the country. That will make it easier for Turks to come.”

However, Melikbekyan said there would be nothing easy on the pitch. Having watched Turkey’s friendly game against Chile last week, Melikbekyan said Armenia was hard to beat in its own stadium.

Meanwhile, Turkish President Abdullah Gül has yet to give a response to Armenian President Serge Sarkissian’s invitation to watch the game together at the Hrazdan Stadium.

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=113928

Wonder what’s going on? Will he or won’t he? If he does, there will be an unprecedented opportunity to start building Armenian-Turkish relations as long as some nutter doesn’t do something stupid here.

Let’s wait and see, I suppose.

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/home/9782083.asp?gid=244&sz=76769

Turkish President Abdullah Gul has accepted an invitation from his Armenian counterpart to watch the World Cup qualifier between the Turkish-Armenian national teams in Yerevan as the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the visit would contribute to renewed relations between the two countries, Vatan daily reported on Saturday. (UPDATED)
————–
Meanwhile, Hurriyet reports that Turkey is having some serious Russian problems of its own, so opening the Armenian border may get some serious traction:

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/finance/9776987.asp?scr=1

Turkey to launch action plan Sept. 1 on Russian efforts to curb trade

Turkey will retaliate against its top trade partner Russia, which is holding thousands of Turkish trucks for inspection at border customs posts, Foreign Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen said on Friday.
…
In reference to questions on the problems faced by Turkish businessmen in Russia, Tuzmen stressed that Turkish trucks are being blocked from entering Russia at customs points in a way that is not applied to trucks of other nations.
Associated story: http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=9765783

Turkish trucks stuck at Russian border face risk of losing market

Dozens of Turkish trucks have been stranded at Russia’s borders for weeks after Russia stepped up inspections after the discovery of illegal drugs on a shipment.

Exporters, who are facing the risk losing the market due to delayed orders, are also obliged to pay a waiting bill, as much as 1,000 euros per truck per day, Turkish business daily Referans reported.

Trucks are being held up at customs posts for up to four weeks at border crossings in Novorossiysk, Sochi and Taganrog, on Ukraine’s border with Russia, said Ahmet Calikoglu, a commercial attache at the Turkish consulate-general in Novorossiysk on Wednesday.

About 100 trucks are now waiting in Novorossiysk, Calikoglu said adding that the trucks are mostly carrying consumer goods such as clothing, food and construction materials.

The Turkish Trade Ministry said the truck delays could cost Turkey as much as $3 billion in export revenues, Bloomberg reported. Turkey has protested to Russia, its biggest trading partner.

Some market insiders linked the delays to political tensions with Russia. Moscow was punishing Turkey for bypassing Russia through BP’s Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, Stuart Hackett, a trader at Ekspres Invest Istanbul told the MoscowTimes.com on Wednesday. “Turkey wants to continue trade with Russia, and that’s being pressured,” Hackett added.
…

This is probably a ‘test’ run - a trick used in post-soviet space a lot - when false information is released on one of medium ranking or not-so-credible media outlets by government, just to see the public reaction to it.

2008-08-29 16:16:00

Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktiutyun to organize protest actions in case of Turkish president’s arrival in Armenia

ArmInfo. Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktiutyun will organize protest actions if Turkish President Andullah Gul accepts Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s invitation to arrive in Armenia, vice-speaker of the parliament, member of the ARF Dashnaktiutyun Hrayr Karapetyan said at today’s press-conference in Hayastk club.

‘As Turkey still continues its anti-Armenian propaganda, this is the best case for the ARFD to raise the voice of protest’, - he said. Touching on the football game between the national teams of Armenia and Turkey he said: ‘This match is politicized. It is important for our football players to understand this, in that case they will play better’.

—

2008-08-29 16:02:00

Armenian oppositionist criticizes intention of ARFD to conduct anti-Turkish rally

ArmInfo. ‘The authorities are to provide conditions for rallies by any political force. I respect the right of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation to rally but I criticize the possible anti-Turkish nature of the rally’, Suren Surenyants, a member of Republic opposition party Political Council said at Tesaket Debate Club Friday.

On the one hand ARFD is a member of political ruling coalition, whereas on the other hand it sharply criticizes the initiative of the authorities to invite Turkish president to football match in Yerevan. arrival of Turkish president in Armenia is so principal for ARFD, let it withdraw from the coalition and then criticize the president, he said.

ARFD has repeatedly announced an intention to organize protest actions in Turkish president arrives in Yerevan on Sept 2. The municipality prohibited the rally.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul has accepted an invitation from his Armenian counterpart to watch the World Cup qualifier between the Turkish-Armenian national teams in Yerevan as the Turkish Foreign Ministry said the visit would contribute to renewed relations between the two countries, Vatan daily reported on Saturday.

Armenia however has not yet been informed of Gul’s decision, the report said, adding that the president is expected to make an official announcement next week.

Armenia President Serz Sargsyan invited Gul to watch the World Cup qualifying match between the two country’s national teams on Sept. 6 to mark “a new symbolic start in the two countries’ relations”.

Gul had previously said that Sargsyan’s invitation is an example of contributions towards solving the problems that exist between the two countries and that an evaluation of the invitation was underway taking every possibility into account.

In a gesture of good faith, Armenia offered to lift all visa requirements and payments for Turkish citizens traveling to the capital Yerevan for the match, the report also said.

http://unzipped.blogspot.com/2008/08/report-turkish-president-accepts.html

Such a development would really serve as a sign of better things to come. However, until the international wires start reporting it, the story should only be taken as speculation.

Let’s see.