The singing of the Turkey-Armenia protocols was evidently in the center of attention of the super powers of the world. The best evidence of that is the presence of top-rank officials present at the event – European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, US State Secretary Hillary Clinton. Thus it was quite expected that various international famous media representatives would air the event. For example, the Euronews, prior to signing of the protocols, filled its hours with outlets commemorating the genocide and the reaction of the Armenian Diaspora. In one of the news outlets of the Euronews they quoted the words of the member of the Supreme Body of the ARF Armen Rustamyan, according to which they were against the protocols (by the way, in the outlet Rustamyan is presented as one of the leaders of the opposition). And then they just showed the signed protocols with certain skepticism. “Less than 48 hours passed since the protocols had been signed however there’re many doubts about the successful continuity of the process,” said the commenter of the Euronews. And the main reason of pessimism was the statement of the prime minister of Turkey Erdogan, who claimed that the Turkish Parliament wouldn’t ratify the protocols as long as the Armenian troops are deployed in the NKR. The British BBC made a similar interpretation about the signing of the protocols with only one difference. Instead of Armen Rustamyan they quoted another ARF member Vahan Hovhannisyan. CNN’s approach was more neutral. The latter mentioned that the main reason of the hostile relations of the two countries. “90 years ago the Ottoman Empire slaughtered the Armenians.” Unlike the TV companies the print media tried to examine the issues in a more pluralistic manner. For example, an analyst of the British newspaper Independent Marcus Tenner wrote that by signing the protocols the axe of the war is buried or partially buried. “Until recently Turkish writers who even edged towards admitting a slaughter of Armenians occurred in the First World War risked imprisonment for insulting the state. The Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk was prosecuted for precisely this crime in 2005 although the Justice Ministry refused to let a trial proceed, following an embarrassing international outcry,” writes Tanner. “What can Armenia get out of this? A good deal, economically. Armenia is small, mountainous, infertile and landlocked. Blockaded by Turkey on one side and by Turkey’s ally, Azerbaijan, on the other, its people have paid a high price for the dispute with Turkey. Poverty is widespread, the electricity supply is erratic, even in the capital, and many people have emigrated. Armenia has shown it can survive the Turkish blockade, thanks partly to the annual flow of remittances and other forms of aid that the wealthy Diaspora sends back "home". “The US is in a dilemma over Armenia. As a senator, Barack Obama vocally supported the Armenian cause and pledged to publicly describe the events of 1915-19 as "genocide" if elected president. The main Armenian lobby groups in the US then urged their supporters to vote for Obama. Once in the White House, he started fudging the issue. Ideally Obama would like to square his earlier pro-Armenian commitments with the reality that Turkey is a far more important player than Armenia. Very much so, although the Kremlin’s attitude to Armenia’s disputes is somewhat sphinx-like,” reads the article. “The signing of the accord is a milestone in the story of Armenian-Turkish relations but not the end of the story by any means. The two parliaments in Yerevan and Ankara must ratify the accord and a "yes" vote is not guaranteed in either assembly. But even if it doesn’t, the reopening of the border between these two countries is an event of more than regional significance. Whatever reservations are felt on either side, the accord has to be good news. The US New York Times also adverted to the signed protocols by expressing an opinion that the recovery of relations will suffice the EU, which Turkey intends to become a member of. According to the newspaper, the signing of the protocols will enable Turkey to look like a modern country with decent ideology in the eyes of the west. As of Armenia, then the establishment of relations will foster the fight against poverty. A similar opinion was expressed by the Financial Times newspaper. “By mending ties, Turkey stands to gain influence in the Caucasus, smooth its path to EU membership – and lessen the perennial threat of US legislators recognizing Ottoman massacres of up to 1.5m Armenians in 1915 as genocide. Armenia would also gain through trade links with a large economy closely tied to the EU if Turkey reopens the border it closed in 1994 to support its ally Azerbaijan in a conflict with Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.” The Financial Times also didn’t miss to mention that during the ceremony Edward Nalbandyan was mildly said not too glad. “Foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandyan finally emerged to sign protocols setting a timetable for the two countries to restore diplomatic relations and open their shared border – after agreeing neither would make any statement. After a handshake, punctuated by smiles only from Turkey’s Mr Davitoglu, the two men received hugs and congratulations from on-lookers including Bernard Kouchner, the French foreign minister, the European Union’s Javier Solana and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov.” The Financial Times didn’t mention that after the signing of the protocols the foreign ministers hugged Hillary Clinton. But the majority of the western media representatives considered Clinton the “savior” of the ceremony. When the Armenian side expressed its disagreement regarding the contents of the text of Davutoglu the ceremony was delayed for an unknown period of time. The Washington Post by referring to this issue, wrote, “Clinton returns to her hotel but doesn’t get off the car and simultaneously speaks to the two foreign affairs ministers on the phone. Davutoglu was already at the university but Nalbandyan would refuse to go to the university. Eventually Clinton invites Nalbandyan to her hotel and suggests that they together go to the university.” But the others – Lavrov, Kouchner and Solana were watching the soccer match Russia-Germany in the room of the Russian delegation of the university. Then they also join rest of the delegation at the university and start to negotiate. Moreover, Clinton once again makes big efforts. “I have said that you have gone too far. The work done for the protocols cannot be cast in the water. You have come to an agreement. So sign them and we will move onto the next stage,” she told one of the western newspapers. Finally after a serious diplomatic work the parties signed the protocols without statements.
