RFE/RL: Shifting gears to the South Caucasus, Mr. Vice President, the geopolitical landscape in that region, which is increasingly important for us as an energy transit route, has changed dramatically in the last year since the Russia-Georgia war. Russia’s consolidating its position in the occupied territories in Georgia [Abkhazia and South Ossetia], Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks are actually gaining steam, Turkey and Armenia have opened up their border. There seems to be a lot of opportunity on the one hand, but a lot of danger on the other. Can you talk a little bit about both -- what does the administration see here?
Biden: I think you’ve described it accurately. I’m always quoting William Butler Yeats’ famous poem “Easter Sunday, 1916” about the first rising in Ireland. He used a line in that poem that better describes the situation in the Caucasus and the world today than it did Ireland then. He said, “All’s changed, changed utterly. A terrible beauty has been born.” It presents great danger and great opportunity. And that’s what great nations and great alliances do. They take advantage of, in a positive way, these changes to make them opportunities. This is an opportunity. I compliment Secretary Clinton -- you saw what’s happened between Turkey and Armenia, as you mentioned, you see what’s happening now in other long and festering disputes...
What’s happening, from my perspective, is that people in the region are beginning to understand their self-interest lies in greater cooperation now. Not out of love and affection, but out of necessity and opportunity. And at the same time, Europe is waking up -- I shouldn’t say waking up, I don’t mean it in a critical sense -- Europe is beginning to focus on how, in fact, they can play a constructive role in providing for access to their markets of the great natural resources that rest there.
This is going to be a very difficult period. It is fraught with danger, but I would argue it’s fraught with more opportunity than danger. And I see more positive things happening than negative things happening. But this is, as my grandfather used to say, this requires a lot of skill and a lot more luck. So we’re working with our friends in Turkey, we’re working with our friends in Europe, we’re working with the various states in Central Europe and the Caucasus that are dealing with a real transition here.
Let me put it another way. Ten years from now, where we are...are in that region of the world will be the real measure and test that our grandchildren are going to apply as to whether or not we succeeded in making a real change in the world in this 21st century. So I think everyone’s seized with the consequence of not making progress in that region of the world. Therefore, because so many are focused on it, I’m more hopeful than I am pessimistic.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
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With the best will in the world, most of Armenians will find very difficult to share the optimism of Mr. Vice President about the developments in Caucasus.
ReplyDeleteOne reason of such pessimism is exactly the same as that of Mr. Biden's optimism: “because so many are focused on it”!
The response of the people living in Caucasus, not only in Armenia, would be: It’s the same old story. “…that’s what great nations and great alliances do. They take advantage of… these changes to make them opportunities” as Mr. Vice President says.
The questions arise like: “what are these opportunities for, what is the price and who is supposed to pay?” Though Mr. Biden added prudently: “in a positive way”, this has nothing positive to add to the feelings of a nation living in the region who has historically suffered from such formal treatment of their interests.
During the same period and before the Easter Rising in 1916 mentioned by Mr. Vice President, even more tragic events followed one of such “rushes for opportunities” by great alliances: millions of Armenians were killed and exiled from their homeland in 1915, with the great nations being too possessed in their constant struggle for “opportunities” in the region to care about it. (Incidentally, first rising in Ireland came to 24 April, the day commemorated by Armenians worldwide as the Genocide Memorial Day).
With all respect to Mr. Biden, his own words come to add more concerns rather than to reassure of good intentions: “Ten years from now, where we are...are in that region of the world will be the real measure and test that our grandchildren are going to apply as to whether or not we succeeded in making a real change in the world in this 21st century”
This sounds as a start of a next horrible “experiment”, and the generations in the 21st century will be exactly in the same situation as now—some of them suffered from, some of them denying the crime. People in the region do want to leave in peace with each other. But concerns will remain unless the great nations like USA assess the real amount of crimes committed in the past as a result of such geopolitical struggling.