US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN2281

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 002281 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/14/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, TU, AM 
SUBJECT: FM DISCUSSES TURKISH-EU ACCESSION: KOCHARIAN 
RAISES CONCERNS WITH EUROPEAN LEADERS 
 
REF: ANKARA 5781 
 
Classified By: Amb. John M. Evans for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). 
 
1. (C) In her October 14 meeting with Armenian Foreign 
Minister Vartan Oskanian, Deputy Assistant Secretary Laura 
Kennedy emphasized the positive benefits for Armenia of a 
Turkey anchored in the EU.  She strongly urged the GOAM avoid 
trying to derail or complicate the process.  Oskanian's 
recent public comments against "premature" Turkish-EU 
accession talks and President Kocharian's October 12 letter 
to EU presidents on the issue indicate that Armenia's 
concerns could both complicate its relations with Turkey and 
unhelpfully affect the public debate on Turkish-EU accession, 
particularly in problematic countries such as France (where 
Oskanian pointedly noted the presence of a 400,000-member 
Armenian community).  Over the course of their discussion, 
Oskanian gave DAS Kennedy a copy of the letter that President 
Robert Kocharian has just sent to all EU presidents raising 
Armenian concerns with the possibility of Turkish accession 
to the EU. 
 
2. (C) Kennedy noted that the recently-adopted Turkish penal 
code itself does not mention Armenia but rather it is cited 
in a legal reasoning (reftel).  She urged Armenia not to 
overreact to this development which appeared to take both 
Turkish and EU officials off guard.  She was confident that 
efforts to remove or void such an interpretation would be 
successful as criminalizing free speech was inconsistent with 
EU (or American) norms. 
 
3. (C) While she agreed that it was appropriate for Armenia 
to raise its concerns, she urged discretion and keeping the 
larger picture in mind.  She also noted that issues such as 
Turkey's closed land border with Armenia are not part of the 
EU's Copenhagen criteria.  That said, Turkey's bid to join 
the EU offered a dynamic backdrop for movement on a range of 
issues.  The U.S., of course, urges Turkey to open its border 
with Armenia.  She noted, however, that Turkey always cites 
Armenian occupation of Azerbaijan as the constraint on its 
ability to move on Armenia. Armenia should keep public focus 
at home and abroad on the positive prospects of EU accession 
for Turkey.  Oskanian did agree on the overall benefits to 
Armenia of Turkey in the EU. 
 
4. (C) Full text of the Kocharian letter (original in 
English) follows.  Begin text: 
 
Dear Mr. President, 
 
The European Commission recommendations on the Turkish 
accession process forces me to write to you with two major 
concerns. 
 
Let me be clear that my concerns are not borne of our own 
bilateral differences with Turkey.  We have said from the 
start that a Turkey that fulfills the conditions for EU 
membership and is deserving of the European label should 
indeed be allowed to join the EU.  Armenia would only welcome 
a neighbor which is democratic and tolerant, one whose 
foreign policy is indeed 'in line with the EU' and one whose 
membership means Armenia will border the EU. 
 
However, your decision to begin accession talks with Turkey 
does, from our perspective, already bend the rules.  Turkey 
will receive the green light for accession talks despite two 
major fundamental wrongs. 
 
First, recent press coverage of Turkey's penal code focused 
on the sensational parts, and completely ignored the explicit 
rejection of tolerance and freedom of expression.  Rather 
than encouraging democratic, free, open, public discourse on 
the difficult topics of Cyprus and Armenians, Article 306 of 
the Turkish Penal Code criminalizes expressions of support 
for the withdrawal of Turkish forces from Cyprus, and 
affirmation of the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide.  To 
say, as the EU recommendations do, that 'As regards freedom 
of expression, the situation has improved significantly' is 
to say that the EU is willing to ignore these flagrant 
violations of basic freedoms. 
 
Second, given that Turkey's borders with Armenia remain 
closed, we do not believe that 'Turkish foreign policy is 
contributing positively to regional stability.'  We do not 
believe Turkey's foreign policy regarding its neighboring 
countries is simply 'less in line' with the EU's.  We want to 
believe it is completely in contradiction to the EU's 
policies of enlargement and inclusion, particularly as it 
affects us in the New Neighborhood. 
 
We would not want the EU to lose its moral authority and 
credibility, when it, on the one hand, tells us and our 
neighbors to affect reforms, but on the other hand, is 
willing to look the other way when another of our neighbors 
actively maintains a contradictory, unacceptable policy. 
 
Sincerely, 
 
Robert Kocharian 
 
End Text. 
 
5. (U) DAS Kennedy has cleared this cable. 
EVANS