US embassy cable - 05YEREVAN1492

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 YEREVAN 001492 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CACEN, EUR/ACE, EUR/SE, INR, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/17/2015 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, TU, AM 
SUBJECT: LINES OF CONTACT--NEW GOAM TEAM TACKLING TURKEY 
ISSUE 
 
Classified By: DCM A.F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b,d). 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1. (C) Beyond the attention-grabbing meetings between GOAM 
Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian and Turkish MFA 
Deputy Undersecretary Ahmet Uzumcu (septel), the Armenians 
point to a series of government-to-government channels that 
provide opportunities for exchange with their estranged 
neighbor.  These mid and low-level contacts are admittedly 
limited in their ability to influence the top policy makers. 
Post believes, however, that they are important confidence 
building measures and will lay the bureaucratic foundation 
for real exchange once relations are established.  Recent 
staffing changes in the Armenian MFA created a new set of 
Armenian bureaucrats handling the Turkey account.  The five 
key actors, and their roles in the Turkey-Armenia 
rapprochment process, are part of a cadre of younger, 
western-educated Turkey scholars in the GOAM who are upbeat 
about the prospects for the bilateral relationship.  Although 
immediate prospects for Armenia-Turkey relations appear slim, 
we continue to reach out to this set of GOAM bureaucrats to 
underscore USG policy on the issue.  End Summary. 
 
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DEPUTY MINISTERS MAKE HEADLINES, OFFER COVER 
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2. (C) While Foreign Minister Oskanian is still the principal 
author of Turkey policy in the GOAM, the main point of 
contact between the Governments of Armenia and Turkey remains 
the relatively quiet, somewhat regular meetings at the Deputy 
Minister level.  Deputy Foreign Minister Arman Kirakossian 
has followed in the tradition of his predecessor and has 
already met twice in Vienna with his Turkish counterpart 
(septel).  The most recent meeting appears to have done 
little more than bring the talks back to the point where they 
left off before the Armenians declared 2005 a "Genocide 
Anniversary Year," but remains the most substantive talks 
that follow a regular schedule. 
 
3. (C) Kirakossian, formerly Armenia's Ambassador in 
Washington (1999-2005), has told us he enjoys his assignment 
to follow Turkish relations.  He studied Turkish as an 
undergraduate and still reads Turkish (although his speaking 
abilities are limited).  His publications on the events of 
1914-1915 (mostly studies of foreign governments' reactions 
at the time and compendia of supporting documents), at first 
raised questions as to whether or not the Turks would 
consider him a reasonable interlocutor in the process.  A 
former MFA employee has told us, however, that Kirakossian 
has mellowed his stance toward Turkey and is exploiting his 
"harmless, teddy bear" image to endear the Turks and make 
headway on some of the toughest issues.  Conversely, MFA 
colleagues called former Deputy Minster Ruben Shugarian, now 
Armenia's Ambassador to Rome, "the shrewd lawyer" (when he 
covered Turkey issues) and hoped that he could out maneuver 
the Turks to get them to drop their insistence that Armenia 
recognize Turkey's border.  Comment:  The meetings of the 
Deputy Foreign Ministers provide a valuable exchange of 
information and much needed contact between the two 
governments.  However, meetings at this level also offer 
Minister Oskanian and President Kocharian a measure of 
political cover so that they can tackle issues that 
nationalist forces within the GOAM prefer they not even raise 
with the Turks.  End comment. 
 
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MFA MIDDLE EAST DEPARTMENT HOUSES TURKISH EXPERTS 
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4. (C) Routine diplomatic work on the Turkey-Armenia 
relationship passes through the MFA's Middle East Department. 
 The department, previously headed by rising MFA star Karen 
Mirzoyan, covers a large number of countries (including 
Armenia's neighbor Iran).  The department has modestly 
changed its focus over the past two years, however, to allow 
for more engagement on Turkey.  The ten-person department is 
home to the MFA's small team of Turkish speakers.  These 
young, career diplomats have been trained in Europe and the 
United States through programs like the Tavitian Foundation 
program at Tufts University.  The MFA requested that the 
Diasporan-sponsored foundation fund Turkish language and area 
studies for its 1999-2000 crop of diplomats to address a 
shortage of fluent Turkish speakers.  The first graduate of 
the program, Anahit Harutunyan, was the Turkish Desk Officer 
from 2001-2004.  Currently in a bridge assignment in Buenos 
Aires, she told us before departing that she expected to be 
posted in Istanbul in short order to maximize her language 
skills and support the ongoing contacts between the two 
governments in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Secretariat. 
 
5. (C) The current head of the Middle East Department, Artiom 
Aznaurian, is a Soviet-era diplomat who, according to MFA 
Senior Advisor Salpi Ghazarian (Amcit), has the full trust of 
Foreign Minister Oskanian.  His previous assignments (mostly 
in multilateral missions in Europe) included stints in 
Armenia's mission to Brussels and the OSCE.  Aznaurian is not 
quick to offer information on Armenia's hush-hush diplomacy 
with Ankara, but during meetings with the Embassy he has 
displayed a firm grasp of the issues and how GOAM positions 
are perceived both in and out of Turkey.  He does not have 
the charm of his charismatic predecessor or popularity among 
his GOAM colleagues, but neither does he seem to have any 
obvious foes within the MFA. 
 
6. (C) 30-year-old Turkish Desk Officer Sahak Sargsyan is 
perhaps most symbolic of the MFA's strategy that "if you 
educate it, the relationship will come."  Sargsyan was a 
Muskie fellow in 2003 at USC (specializing in Turkish 
studies) and was quickly recruited by the MFA to handle 
documents and press coming out of Ankara.  The MFA has 
sponsored ongoing education for Sargsyan through Yerevan 
State University and travel to Turkey.  His colleagues -- in 
and out of his department -- call him the best young Turkish 
speaker in the country.  Sargsyan has admitted to us that the 
Turkey Desk is not always privy to discussions between 
Oskanian and Kirakossian on meeting content or strategy with 
the Turks.  He claims, however, that more and more daily 
research taskings mean that his department and office are 
increasingly part of briefings and requests or meetings with 
other GOAM line ministries. 
 
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BSEC:  GOOD REASON FOR AN OFFICIAL IN ISTANBUL 
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7. (C) Armenia's representation at the Black Sea Economic 
Cooperation (BSEC) Secretariat in Istanbul is the only 
official GOAM office in Turkey.  A small operation of four 
GOAM diplomats and four permanent staff, the GOAM's BSEC 
office offers sufficient political cover for Armenian 
officials to easily interact with Turkish counterparts 
without incurring the anger of nationalistic foes in Yerevan 
(who would oppose or exploit even this kind of contact). 
Karen Mirzoyan took over the position at BSEC in 2004 after 
four years as head of the Middle East Department.  Mirzoyan 
told us he had developed an unusually close professional and 
personal bond with his counterpart in Ankara and was 
instrumental in drafting the document that served as the 
basis for mid-level talks over the past two years.  Mirzoyan 
is a tough negotiator and has steered clear of controversy 
within the bureaucratic ranks.  Admired by most MFA 
colleagues, he has a reputation as an optimist on the 
Armenia-Turkey relationship. 
 
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TBILISI:  NEXUS OF NECESSITY 
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8. (C) Tbilisi offers a neutral spot where Armenian 
bureaucrats tell us they can actively seek out contacts with 
Turkish counterparts.  Before his recent transfer to 
Istanbul, then MFA Middle East Department Chief Karen 
Mirzoyan expressed his view that more tangible progress had 
been made in bringing together GOAM and GOT bureaucrats in 
Tbilisi than at other diplomatic posts or international 
organizations.  Armenia's current Ambassador in Tbilisi, 
Georgi Khosroev, is less an expert on Turkey than his 
predecessor, but has already been active on the issue.  He 
will be the GOAM's point person on consular issues and 
administrative questions with the Turks in the absence of 
diplomatic channels in Yerevan or Ankara.  For example, the 
letters passed between the two presidents earlier this year 
regarding a joint government commission were channeled 
through Khosroev, along with initial impressions about the 
documents.  The MFA has told us that it views the assignment 
of Turkish Ambassador to Georgia, Dicle Kopuz (who had worked 
closely with Mirzoyan in the past and seems to have a decent 
personal relationswhip with Khosroev), as a positive sign 
that the Turks want to keep the mid-level dialogue alive. 
 
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COMMENT:  NEW FACES -- NEW OPPORTUNITY? 
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9. (C) The five key actors, and their role in the 
Turkey-Armenia rapprochment process, are part of a cadre of 
younger, western-educated Turkey scholars in the GOAM who are 
upbeat about the prospects for the bilateral relationship. 
While their influence is only limited, the new mid-level 
bureacrats assigned to this issue offer a good opportunity 
for us to reinforce our policy that diplomatic relations and 
open borders will benefit the region.  We will continue to 
include desk officers and GOAM Ambassadors in our policy 
discussions and outreach activities as well as applauding 
high-level contact between the two governments. 
EVANS