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 Lecture 1: Relations between Turkey and Armenia: The closed border and its possible future
Although the Government of Turkey officially recognized the independence of the Republic of Armenia on December 16, 1991, it unilaterally decided to close the Armenian-Turkish border as a reaction to the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the April of 1993.
Opening of the border is considered a precondition for development of bilateral relations. This position was acknowledged not only by the European Union, but also by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia. As a major power in the region, Ankara aims to display its assertiveness by bringing up the border issue during every negotiation opportunity with Yerevan to obtain a unilateral compromise from Armenia.
In this context, what are the interests and concerns of the two parties? Why do the countries need the border to be opened?
Lecture 2: Relations between Turkey and Armenia: Yesterday, Today and. is there a Tomorrow?Armenian-Turkish relations date back to the middle Ages when the first Turkic nomadic tribes settled in the Middle East and the Caucasus. With the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the western part of Armenia came under the control of the Sublime Porte. The rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire, the threat of advancement of Russians in WWI on the Caucasian borders and other issues resulted in the events of the 1915-1923, where much of the world calls Genocide yet the Turks call reciprocal massacres. Since those times, the Armenian-Turkish relations have not moved forward much.
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