Turkish-Armenian Sign Treaty After Delay, Clinton And Swiss Officials Helped To Break Impasse

[Beacool]

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 10, 2009

ZURICH (AP) -- Turkey and Armenia signed an accord Saturday to establish diplomatic relations after a century of enmity, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton helped the two sides clear a last-minute snag.

''It was pulled back from the brink,'' said a senior U.S. official

The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed the agreement in the Swiss city of Zurich after a dispute over the final statements they would make. In the end, the signing took place about three hours later and there were no spoken statements.

Officials say Clinton and mediators from Switzerland intervened to help broker a solution.

The accord is expected to win ratification from both nations' parliaments and could lead to a reopening of their border, which has been closed for 16 years.

--------

Clinton had arrived at the ceremony venue after meeting separately with the Turks and Armenians at a hotel, but abruptly departed without leaving her car when the problem arose.

She returned to the hotel where she spoke by phone from the sedan in the parking lot, three times with the Armenians and four times with the Turks. At one point in the intervention, a Swiss police car, lights and siren blazing, brought a Turkish diplomat to the hotel from the university with a new draft of his country's statement.

After nearly two hours, Clinton and Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met in person at the hotel and drove back to the university where negotiations continued. It was not clear if there would be a resolution.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/10/world/AP-EU-Turkey-Armenia.html?_r=2&src=tptw

Sedan diplomacy?

:D

[Bumblebee]

1. it was signed -- about 2 hours ago -- after a delay.

[Beacool]

2. Yes, it says so in the rest of the article.

But it seems that it was touch and go for a while.

:-)

[Bumblebee]

3. yes, but the headline is misleading then

what's important -- now -- is that it has been signed, not that it was delayed.

Nice pics, though -- thanks for those!

[Beacool]

4. It's the NY Times headline.

BTW, interesting to see the unrecs already starting. The haters are way too funny.

Hey you, unrec'ing crowd out there. I have never unrec'd anyone's thread, even if I didn't agree with what was stated. But I guess that the SOS conducting diplomacy and brokering deals is a bad thing for some of you.

Have fun children.......

:eyes:

[Bumblebee]

5. I suspect if you change the headline the unrecs will stop

It's about Hillary and how effective she was. If that's what the headline said I would have been the first one to recommend it!

[Beacool]

6. OK, I'll change it but it won't be the published headline.

:shrug:

[Bumblebee]

7. They were just slow to change it -- by now they have

[IndianaGreen]

17. The unrec morons, and they are morons, would not be complying with LBN and I/P rules

which specifically require the use of the actual headline of an article.

Our version of the tea baggers!

[Beacool]

22. Yep, they are also cowards.

They hide behind the unrec feature to try to screw up with some posters' threads if they don't like them. They act like little kids. LOL!!!

:eyes:


:7

[krispos42]

28. It doesn't have to be

This isn't Latest Breaking News, so... do what you think is best.

[Beacool]

41. Well, too late now.

I changed it as suggested to avoid confusion.

:-)

[jbnow]

27. Isn't seeing Clinton in the middle of all those men refreshing?

I'm glad they signed and that she could help.

[Posteritatis]

8. I just sprained a paradigm. (nt)

[Uzybone]

9. This admin hasn't proved anything on diplomacy yet

what were they thinking giving the President the Nobel?

[TheBigotBasher]

66. Nothing on diplomacy?

This?

Pulling the US and Russia back from the brink of a cold war?

Larger reductions in nuclear weapons than achieved by Reagan with all the great fanfares he was given.

Working with China to calm down the situation in North Korea?

A lot of nothing.

This administration has ended the Bush doctrine and has secured World approval for doing so.

[liberalpragmatist]

10. Why is this un-rec'ed?

nt

[Beacool]

11. Because it's my thread.

That's the kind of childish play that goes on around here. If anyone else had posted it, it would have several recs. But, since I never cared about the rec/unrec thing, it doesn't affect me.

:D

[joeycola]

12. I will give it a rec. Love that blue in a pile of black:-)

[joeycola]

13. I will give it a rec. Love that blue in a pile of black:-)

[Beacool]

15. Thanks twice, Joey!!

:pals:

[IndianaGreen]

16. Ahhh, the mindless cohort of the unrec Tonton Macoutes

They don't even bother to read an OP, that's how reactionary they are.

Too bad, because they probably don't even have a clue that the Armenian genocide is the big elephant in the room. I am pleased at Hillary's efforts at getting the two reluctant sides to sign this agreement, despite Turkey's refusal to admit its historical responsibility in the Armenian genocide.

[gerenimox]

19. how about the Turkish genocide by Armenians?

Just because the christian propagandists don`t talk about it, and you have no clue about what I`m talking about now, doesn`t mean it never happened. Will Armenia ever admit its historical responsibility in the Turkish Genocide?

[Beacool]

20. Turkey should have admitted it and moved on.

None of the people responsible are still alive. If Germany could own up to what Hitler did, then so can Turkey.

;-)

[Renew Deal]

30. Malcontents, trolls, those that want persistent conflict, and those that want Turkey condemned

for the "genocide" and find that more important than future peace.

[alsame]

14. Good work. I heard this morning that Hillary's car turned around

and left, then I was out for the day and didn't know what happened. I'm glad this was resolved and that she was a big part of it. :)

[annabanana]

18. After all these years, this is quite a feat.

Quite remarkable what a change in tone can do.

[Beacool]

21. Yep, it only took them almost a century.

Well, better late than never.

:-)

[Cali_Democrat]

23. Another diplomatic victory for Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama

Obama is on a roll!!!

:woohoo:

[firedupdem]

24. +1 Yes he is....showing great leadership once again! n/t

[Lord Helmet]

67. +1

[Beacool]

25. I assume that he was in the car with her while she made all those calls to the Armenian and Turks.

:eyes:


:7

[Baltoman991]

31. You do know

that they're a team right? You have no problem blaming all the worlds problems on Obama but when something good happens the only one you want to credit is Clinton.

I wonder why that is?

Having said that I'll say this is great news. Unlike you, I have no problem giving credit where credit is due and I give credit to Hillary. Perhaps one day you'll be able to do the same for Obama.

[Beacool]

40. Of course they are part of a team!!!

But she was the one in Zurich when the negotiations almost collapsed and she was the one who sat in a car calling the Turks and Armenians several times to resolve the impasse. In this specific instance, the credit goes to her (and the Swiss officials).

;-)

[Autumn]

49. That rascal Hillary needs to

learn where her place is.:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Beacool]

51. I guess so............

:eyes:



:rofl:

[Autumn]

55. I was so disappointed when

I realized she wouldn't be the nominee, but I see her now and she always looks so happy. She seems to love what she is doing and she is so good at it. Obama did good choosing her as Secretary of State.

[Beacool]

57. Hillary has always worked hard at every job she's had and paid her dues.

She has never just coasted along and yesterday proved why experience does count for something.

:-)

[yourguide]

34. I am sure she did it under his direction n/t

[Cali_Democrat]

45. Credit goes to the Obama Administration as a whole

Obama says jump and Hillary says how high.

Hillary is nothing more than a surrogate for Obama. Hillary lost the ability to call the shots when she lost the primaries.

Obama is the man in charge and he gives the orders.

Deal with it.

:hi:

[IndianaGreen]

47. Okay, so how is Ambassador George Mitchell doing with his Middle East talks?

By your logic, failure goes to the Administration as a whole.

[Cali_Democrat]

48. Of course it goes both ways....failure or success

duh

:crazy:

[Beacool]

53. You deal with the fact that Obama was not the one doing the grunt work on this one.

He was in DC and called her AFTER the fact to congratulate her on a job well done. Or do you think that he's omnipotent like Zeus and was conducting the proceedings from Mount Olympus?

Really, some of you people's efforts to diminish the role and abilities of our SOS are way too funny........

:7

[Cali_Democrat]

59. I'm not trying to diminish the efforts of Hillary

She did a great job. But the ultimate credit goes to Obama because it's his administration.

She's an excellent deputy, but only a deputy. Obama is the President and he is her boss. The job of a subordinate is to make your boss look good.

Job well done, Hillary. Nobel Peace Prize winner President Barack Obama sends his thanks.

:)

[IndianaGreen]

60. Please don't start that shit of using 'Nobel Peace Prize winner' as a title

it may come back to bite you in the ass depending as to what Obama does with Afghanistan, Iran, the Middle East, and Latin America.

You don't win the Nobel Peace Prize. One is bestowed with it, just like the Medal of Honor.

[Cali_Democrat]

63. But all these news articles say that Obama WON the Nobel Peace Price

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&source=hp&q=obama%20wins%20nobel&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn


Perhaps you should write them a letter and inform them that he was bestowed with it.

:rofl:


President and Nobel Peace Prize WINNER, Barack Obama!!!

:woohoo:


You should be happy for him!!

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_g56YkTApYso/Snek3WzqUOI/AAAAAAAAC3M/8AOxw6NiDmo/s400/noble+peace+prize.jpg

:woohoo:

[IndianaGreen]

65. I posted on Friday that it was an occasion of pride for America

but this shit is getting tiresome from both sides.

This is not a football game!

[pecwae]

69. You haven't said it in every post, though.

[IndianaGreen]

70. I am not known for burning incense to gods

[Autumn]

61. She does make him look good, her appointment

was a wise choice.:-)

[Cali_Democrat]

64. Indeed

Obama is a wise man.

[Beacool]

26. Clinton basks in diplomatic victory

By Matthew Lee
Associated Press Writer / October 10, 2009

LONDON—U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton basked in the glow of praise from her Nobel laureate boss on Saturday after spearheading successful efforts to salvage historic accords between longtime bitter foes Turkey and Armenia.

President Barack Obama, who a day earlier was the surprise winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, telephoned Clinton in Switzerland to congratulate her on overcoming a last minute-hitch that threatened to scuttle the Turkish-Armenian deals, a senior State Department official said.

Clinton was headed to the airport in the Swiss city of Zurich following an intense and frantic day of negotiations when she got the call from Obama, the official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the call was private.

"He was very excited, he felt like this was a big step forward and wanted to check in," the official told reporters aboard Clinton's plane as she flew from Zurich to London, the second leg of a five-day tour of Europe and Russia. "He called to congratulate her and the team."

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2009/10/10/clinton_basks_in_diplomatic_victory/?rss_id=Boston.com+--+Top+political+stories

:-)

[yourguide]

33. Obama basks in Nobel Peace Prize

just sayin...

[IndianaGreen]

35. I assume you prefer the Boston Globe would have included Obama's name in headline

Are you guys showing a Stalinist streak, a compulsion to extol The Leader in the most mundane of news stories?

[yourguide]

37. No I'd prefer Bea get with the program

and let go of her unhealthy obsession with the Clinton's and remember which Dem is President ...this is far more an issue of Bea's posting history rather than HRCs achievement.

But since you feel it necessary to be insulting, perhaps you PUMAs can head somewhere that you might fit in better like NoQuarter?

[Beacool]

43. Wow, quite the psychoanalyst, aren't you?

"Unhealthy obsession"? Projection much? There are some here who think that the president is as infallible as the Pope.

As far as being insulting, your post is far more insulting to the other poster and to me too.

Have a nice day.........

;)

[yourguide]

44. I dont think he's infalible as the pope.

However, as quite a few others pointed out, you dead enders seem to think the Clintons (plural) are responsible for everything good in the administration while you come down on Obama any chance you get.

What's truly insulting is that you are allowed to keep posting on this board, especially after your remarks about the Nobel Prize.

Seriously Bea, why dont you pull your last few months of posts then mine THEN come tell me about how I am projecting. By the way, Bill never won a Nobel...yet another thing Obama beat the Clintons at.

[Beacool]

50. True, but it just shows how politicized the award has become.

Five guys in Norway think that an American president should win the Nobel Peace Prize, of all things, after a few months in office? Please.......

So, in your opinion, someone should be banned because they think that Obama has not yet earned this award? At least Obama had the humility to admit that he hadn't done much to earn it at this point in time. Some day he may be more than deserving of the Nobel, but right now? Not so much. Let's first see results in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Middle East, etc. Furthermore, I also said more than once that Hillary wouldn't have earned it either if she had been president.

[yourguide]

54. LOL

It does not show anything of the sort, it just shows how pathetic the haters are, it's a proud day for America but you keep hating. Apparently you need a reminder of why he won.

FYI:

The Lugar-Obama Cooperative Threat Reduction.
Introduced by Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Dick Lugar and Sen. Tom Coburn.

First introduced in November 2005 and enacted in 2007, this bill expanded upon the successful Nunn-Lugar threat reduction, which helped secure weapons of mass destruction and related infrastructure in former Soviet Union states.

Lugar-Obama expanded this nonproliferation program to conventional weapons -- including shoulder-fired rockets and land mines. When the bill received $48 million in funding, Obama said, "This funding will further strengthen our ability to detect and intercept illegal shipments of weapons and materials of mass destruction, enhancing efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism."

Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007

Introduced by Obama, this binding act would stop the planned troop increase of 21,500 in Iraq, and would also begin a phased redeployment of troops from Iraq with the goal of removing all combat forces by March 31, 2008.

Explaining the bill, Obama said it reflects his view that the problems in Iraq do not have a military solution. "Our troops have performed brilliantly in Iraq, but no amount of American soldiers can solve the political differences at the heart of somebody else's civil war," Obama said.

The Comprehensive Nuclear Threat Reduction provision

Working with Sen. Hagel and Rep. Adam Schiff, Obama authored this provision, which would require the president to develop a comprehensive plan for ensuring that all nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material at vulnerable sites around the world are secure by 2012 from the threats that terrorists have shown they can pose.

A provision from the Obama-Hagel bill was passed by Congress in December 2007 as an amendment to the State-Foreign Operations appropriations bill.

"It is imperative that we build and sustain a truly global effort under an aggressive timeline to secure, consolidate, and reduce stockpiles of nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material to keep them out of the wrong hands. The comprehensive nuclear threat reduction plan required by this provision is an important step in that effort," Obama said of the provision.

There is also this as President:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009...clear-medvedev

Quote:
Monday 6 July 2009

The US and Russia have agreed to work towards cutting deployed nuclear warheads to as few as 1,500 each under an agreement signed by Barack Obama on his first trip to Russia as president.

Obama and the Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, signed a framework deal aimed at cutting warheads to a maximum of 1,675 within seven years of a nuclear arms reduction treaty coming into force.

Current treaties allow for a maximum of 2,200 warheads, though both sides are thought to have more than that deployed, or capable of launch. According to some expert estimates of current numbers, the new commitment would mean each side scrapping almost 1,000 warheads.

And this:

http://www.abcnews.go.com/m/screen?id=8659381&pid=77


Quote:
9/24/09, 4:48 PM EDT

In one of his many firsts on the international stage, President Obama chaired a meeting of the U.N. Security Council today where a resolution reaffirming the U.N.'s goal of a world without nuclear weapons passed unanimously.

Obama, who delivered an unusually blunt speech to the United Nations General Assembly Wednesday, became the first ever U.S. president to chair this meeting.

"We now face proliferation of a scope and complexity that demands new strategies and new approaches," the president said. "The historic resolution we just adopted enshrines our shared commitment to a goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and it brings Security Council agreement on a broad framework for action to reduce nuclear dangers as we work toward that goal."

[Beacool]

56. Let's just agree to disagree.

Neither one is going to change her mind on this one.

;-)

[yourguide]

58. .

*rolls eyes*

[Lord Helmet]

68. +1

There are a select few here who are proud to repeat the "only 12 days" bs that originated with the rw haters, but Pres Obama was working to tidy up loose nukes as a Senator. It doesn't matter if people refuse to read exactly why the Nobel peeps awarded this to Pres Obama. It doesn't fit into their general theme of tearing the president down every chance they get. It's hilarious to watch these same few denigrate Pres Obama and exaggerate H. Clinton. They still dine on sour grapes but that's their choice of entre.

[Autumn]

36. I can certainly agree with Hillary,

it was a good night in Zurich.:toast:

[Renew Deal]

29. Better late than never.

Hopefully this is good for all their people

[denem]

32. Tom Delay ... Helped To Break Impasse!!!

A better diplomat than dancer I guess.

[IndianaGreen]

38. Here is a great photo of our Secretary of State with Gordon Brown

from the Spanish press:



http://www.elpais.com/fotogaleria/Caras/dia/38-1/elpgal/

[joeycola]

39. Its lovely. thanks.

[Beacool]

42. Beautiful pic!!!

Thank you!!!

:hi:

[Autumn]

46. What a fantastic picture

than you for posting that. She seems to be enjoying her job so much.

[grantcart]

52. No surprise that the SOS is an effective and skilled diplomat

Getting the Armenians and the Turks to move ahead has been a nasty and difficult issue for a very long time.

[Beacool]

62. Some pics from earlier today

Great Britain








British Prime Minister Gordon Brown greets United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton at Chequers, the Prime Minister's official country residence, Sunday Oct 11, 2009.






US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton (R) looks toward Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband (L) during a press conference at No.1 Carlton Gardens in London on October 11, 2009.


Ireland


U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton being greeted by First Minister Peter Robinson (R) and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (L)in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Sunday Oct. 11, 2009.


US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, right, is greeted by Ireland's President Mary McAleese and her husband Martin at Aras an Uachtarain in Dublin, Ireland as part of her five day tour of Europe Sunday Oct. 11, 2009.