NEW YORK, NY – Confronted with a barrage of questions from a skeptical audience, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian on Tuesday attempted to salvage the prospects of a controversial accord between Turkey and Armenia. The accord, outlined in a series of protocols, has set off considerable opposition among Diasporan Armenians.

Nalbandian’s appearance was organized by Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and co-hosted by the Columbia University Armenian Center. The program began with a clearly uncomfortable Nalbandian delivering remarks entitled “Armenian Foreign Policy: Challenges in the Region of the Caucasus” then responded to repeated questions about the secretly negotiated protocols, unveiled on August 31st and set to be signed – with no opportunity for amendment – on October 10th.

In the face of considerable opposition, Nalbandian is joining Armenian President Serge Sargisian in a whirlwind tour of Armenian communities around the world, starting with meetings in New York and Los Angeles scheduled later this week. Attendees asked a broad array of questions focusing on the language, implications, and concessions the proposed protocols would set forth, as well as Armenia’s decision to exclude Diasporan organizations and civil society from input in the preparation of the documents.

Inquiries were met with a series of heavily scripted and oftentimes incredulous responses, leaving participants frustrated and distrustful. In response to concerns that the establishment of a commission “on the historical dimension,” to “define existing problems” between Turkey and Armenia would cast doubt on the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide, Nalbandian repeated. “In the protocols there is nothing saying we’re putting under question the Armenian Genocide reality or recognition.”

Nalbandian deflected follow-up questions about the specific focus of the historical commission citing a laundry list of sub-commissions and the timetable of negotiations “…two months after opening the border we are going to create sub-commissions in the framework of the intergovernmental Commission dealing with different questions – energy, transport, communication, I don’t know, cultural, education, different things, but also a subcommission to restore mutual confidence not between two countries but two nations…”

Confronted with questions about the secrecy of the Turkey-Armenia negotiations, Nalbandian first claimed that Diasporan groups had been consulted – with no specifics of organizations approached – then cited the upcoming Armenian Presidential visits with the community as an opportunity for dialogue. “But we couldn’t ignore also the opinion of our Diaspora and that is why the Foreign Minister met in many countries over the world with Diaspora communities and our president, yes, it was announced that he will be in countries where we have major Armenian communities to hear and to know their opinion,” said Nalbandian.

Asked about the timing of the April 22nd announcement of a so-called “roadmap” for dialogue between the two countries, Nalbandian stunned audience members, responding that “it was just a joint statement…just two days before April 24, commemoration of the Armenian genocide, or one month before, this is the same.” That move, of course, has been widely seen as an attempt by Turkey to derail U.S. affirmation of the Armenian Genocide on April 24th.