The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“TRIBUTE TO THE REPUBLICS OF TURKEY AND ARMENIA OPENING THEIR BORDER” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E2629-E2630 on Oct. 26, 2009.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO THE REPUBLICS OF TURKEY AND ARMENIA OPENING THEIR BORDER
______
HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS
of florida
in the house of representatives
Monday, October 26, 2009
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Republics of Armenia and Turkey for their ongoing efforts to open their joint border and normalize relations. On October 10, 2009, they signed protocols in Zurich, Switzerland, which establish diplomatic ties and reopen a border that has been closed since 1993. While the negotiations have at times been difficult and emotional, the agreement is an important first step to restoring full diplomatic relations between these neighboring states.
Madam Speaker, I also want to congratulate Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for her leadership in helping to move the process forward. In this connection, I would like to submit an October 14, 2009 Washington Post editorial entitled, ``Opening a Border.'' The article does an excellent job of detailing the deft diplomatic work of Secretary Clinton to assist Turkey and Armenia in taking this historic step.
As the article states, the rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia is critical to the United States since it promotes stability in the Caucasus region and could provide new avenues for gas and oil export to the West.
In closing, I commend Secretary Clinton and her colleagues at the State Department and offer my full support for their valiant efforts. The protocols have been sent to the parliaments of the respective countries. I hope they will be ratified quickly and open the door to a new era of diplomacy and friendship.
Opening a Border
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton executed some deft diplomancy last weekend as the leaders of Turkey and Armenia signed a potentially historic deal to establish normal diplomatic relations and reopen their borders. We say
``potentially'' because there are some big obstacles to implementing the accord, which we'll come back to. But Ms. Clinton helped to ensure that the signing ceremony in Zurich went forward after four hours of last-minute mediation. Not for the first time in her short tenure, she proved capable of overcoming an impasse and teasing out of a favorable outcome of the United States.
The rapprochement between these two nations matters to the United States for a number of reasons. It could help stabilize the volatile Caucasus region, open the way for new corridors for the export of gas and oil to the West, ease Russian's political domination of Armenia and remove a major irritant from U.S. relations with Turkey. The Obama administration worked diligently to promote the accord: Ms. Clinton made 29 phone calls to the leaders of the two nations. President Obama played a part by sidestepping a campaign promise to formally recognize the mass killing of Armenians by Turks during World War I as ``genocide.''
The genocide issue--and the refusal of some in the American Armenian community to compromise on it--still threaten to undo the deal. The opening of the border, closed since 1993, would be a huge benefit to impoverished and landlocked Armenia. But there is resistance to a provision of the accords that would set up a joint commission to study the study of the massacres. Opponents say this could give Turkey, which denies that a genocide took place, a means to filibuster the issue--and to stop the annual attempt by some in the U.S. Congress to pass a resolution declaring that genocide occurred. In fact, the issue is one best left to the two countries; that several U.S. Armenian groups have endorsed the accord is a victory for common sense.
A more formidable obstacle to the deal may be Armenian's unresolved dispute with another neighbor, Azerbaijan, over the ethnically Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is occupied by Armenian along with neighboring Azeri territory. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the courageous step of declining to make the settlement of this
``frozen conflict'' a precondition to his accord with Armenia--therby inviting the wrath of Azerbaijan, which is an ally and energy supplier to Turkey. But Mr. Erdogan has said--most recently last Sunday--that his government will not go forward with the deal unless Armenia executes at last a partial withdrawal from Azerbaijan. That would be a tough step for Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and require considerable international support: more delicate work for Ms. Clinton.
____________________
