Armenia–Denmark relations
Encyclopedia
Armenia–Denmark relations refers to the current and historical relations
between Armenia
and Denmark
. Armenia has an embassy in Copenhagen
, and Denmark is represented in Armenia, through its embassy in Kiev
, Ukraine
. Diplomatic relations were established on 14 January 1992. The current Armenian Ambassador to Denmark is Hrachia Aghajania. In 2008, the Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan
called the relations between Armenia and Denmark "friendly" and "highly appreciating".
between Armenia and Denmark date back to 1568, when Armenian traveler and writer Pirzade Ghap'anets'i visited Denmark.
against the Armenian civilians, the government of Denmark condemned the massacres, and sharply protested against the Ottoman Empire
. The famous Danish scholar and critic Georg Brandes
commented on the massacres and wrote a book about the Armenians in 1903.
, missionary, Karen Jeppe
can be counted as Denmark's first ever aid worker. This was because she largely refrained from preaching protestant doctrine to the Orthodox Armenians, instead concentrating on achieving humanitarian development objectives, such as improving education and performing rescue operations to free captured Armenian women.
Unusually for European workers at the time, in the years leading up to World War I
Jeppe along with other Danish individuals and organisations also pushed for international recognition of Armenians right to self determination. Armenia was granted independence shortly after World War I at the Treaty of Sèvres
. However the new state, Wilsonian Armenia
was not officially recognised by Turkey or the USA, as President Wilson
, weakened by a stroke and without his political fixer Colonel House, was defeated in the senate
by the power plays of Henry Cabot Lodge
. By 1921 the temporary Armenian republic had collapsed under military pressure from the Young Turks
. Jeppe and other Danes returned from Denmark to the region to continue their work on behalf of the Armenians. Their work included the establishment of the first ever Armenian agricultural village in Syria to provide a livelihood for displaced Armenians, settlements established by Jeppe and her helpers were noted for their prosperity in comparison to other camps that took in Armenians.
In November 1920, Denmark accepted the League of Nations
offer to act as a mediator
in the war between the Democratic Republic of Armenia
and the Turkish nationalists under Mustafa Kemal
.
After the 1988 Spitak earthquake in Armenia, Denmark donated aid to Armenia.
. The Danish government does not however officially recognise that the mass killings of Armenians should be classed as a Genocide, saying the judgement of whether to do so is a matter for historians.
In an open letter by the "Danish Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the denial and relativization of the Armenian genocide", historians Torben Jorgensen
and Matthias Bjornlund wrote:
"When it comes to the historical reality of the Armenian genocide, there is no “Armenian” or “Turkish” side of the “question,” any more than there is a “Jewish” or a “German” side of the historical reality of the Holocaust: There is a scientific side, and an unscientific side acknowledgment or denial. In the case of the denial of the Armenian genocide, it is even founded on a massive effort of falsification, distortion, cleansing of archives, and direct threats initiated or supported by the Turkish state, making any “dialogue” with Turkish deniers highly problematic."
and economic development.
In 2004, Denmark signed an agreement to assist Armenia implementing the Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM) protocol and help reduce their emission of greenhouse gasses. The agreement came into force in March 2005. In 2006, Denmark assisted Armenia with 10 million DKK, for the disabled Armenian children.
Denmark sent observers through OSCE to Armenia in 2007, and provided 16 million DKK to Armenia's renewable energy
project. Denmark also sent aid to Armenia after the humanitarian consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
.
In 2008, the two countries signed an agreement, promoting growth and employment in poor areas. Denmark provided 30 million DKK
to the project, and 29 million DKK to the private sector
and education. In September 2008, Denmark assisted Armenia, Georgia
and Ukraine
with 50 million DKK, for the private sector programme. In June 2011, Denmark assisted Armenia with 4,7 million DKK to a programme of International Fund for Agricultural Development
for the farms in Armenia.
.
visited Denmark. In August 2004, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Moller visited Armenia. In 2005, Denmark invited Armenian President Robert Kocharyan to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly 51st annual session in Copenhagen, but refused because Denmark also invited Turkish Premier Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
.
On 24 November 2011, the Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan visited Denmark for a meeting with the Danish Foreign Minister Villy Søvndal
. Nalbandyan also thanked Denmark for the Danish assistance for the aftermath in the Spitak earthquake and in Armenia's progress since independence. Nalbandyan attended the opening of the new Armenian embassy in Denmark and stressed that: "Raising the Armenian flag in the capital of Denmark, we demonstrate our willingness to raise our bilateral relations to a new level."
Bilateralism
Bilateralism consists of the political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. For example, free trade agreements signed by two states are examples of bilateral treaties. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which refers to the conduct of diplomacy by a...
between Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. Armenia has an embassy in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, and Denmark is represented in Armenia, through its embassy in Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Diplomatic relations were established on 14 January 1992. The current Armenian Ambassador to Denmark is Hrachia Aghajania. In 2008, the Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan
Eduard Nalbandyan
Eduard Nalbandyan is an Armenian diplomat. He is the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia since April 2008....
called the relations between Armenia and Denmark "friendly" and "highly appreciating".
History
Mercantile relationsMercantilism
Mercantilism is the economic doctrine in which government control of foreign trade is of paramount importance for ensuring the prosperity and security of the state. In particular, it demands a positive balance of trade. Mercantilism dominated Western European economic policy and discourse from...
between Armenia and Denmark date back to 1568, when Armenian traveler and writer Pirzade Ghap'anets'i visited Denmark.
1800s
During the Hamidian massacresHamidian massacres
The Hamidian massacres , also referred to as the Armenian Massacres of 1894–1896, refers to the massacring of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, with estimates of the dead ranging from anywhere between 80,000 to 300,000, and at least 50,000 orphans as a result...
against the Armenian civilians, the government of Denmark condemned the massacres, and sharply protested against the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. The famous Danish scholar and critic Georg Brandes
Georg Brandes
Georg Morris Cohen Brandes was a Danish critic and scholar who had great influence on Scandinavian and European literature from the 1870s through the turn of the 20th century. He is seen as the theorist behind the "Modern Breakthrough" of Scandinavian culture...
commented on the massacres and wrote a book about the Armenians in 1903.
1900s
Danish missionaries were active in Armenia from at least the 19th century. According to Danish historian Matthias BjornlundMatthias Bjornlund
Matthias Bjørnlund is a Danish historian. In 2003-2005 he was the workshop leader of Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Copenhagen in connection with the commemoration of the international Auschwitz Day....
, missionary, Karen Jeppe
Karen Jeppe
Karen Jeppe was a Danish missionary and social worker, known for her work aid workerwith Ottoman Armenian refugees and survivals of the Armenian Genocide, mainly widows and orphans, from 1903 untilher death in Syria in 1935...
can be counted as Denmark's first ever aid worker. This was because she largely refrained from preaching protestant doctrine to the Orthodox Armenians, instead concentrating on achieving humanitarian development objectives, such as improving education and performing rescue operations to free captured Armenian women.
Unusually for European workers at the time, in the years leading up to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Jeppe along with other Danish individuals and organisations also pushed for international recognition of Armenians right to self determination. Armenia was granted independence shortly after World War I at the Treaty of Sèvres
Treaty of Sèvres
The Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...
. However the new state, Wilsonian Armenia
Wilsonian Armenia
Wilsonian Armenia refers to the boundary configuration of the Armenian state in the Treaty of Sèvres, drawn by US President Woodrow Wilson State Department. The Treaty of Sèvres was a peace treaty that had been drafted and signed between the Western Allied Powers and the defeated government of the...
was not officially recognised by Turkey or the USA, as President Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, weakened by a stroke and without his political fixer Colonel House, was defeated in the senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
by the power plays of Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot Lodge
Henry Cabot "Slim" Lodge was an American Republican Senator and historian from Massachusetts. He had the role of Senate Majority leader. He is best known for his positions on Meek policy, especially his battle with President Woodrow Wilson in 1919 over the Treaty of Versailles...
. By 1921 the temporary Armenian republic had collapsed under military pressure from the Young Turks
Young Turks
The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...
. Jeppe and other Danes returned from Denmark to the region to continue their work on behalf of the Armenians. Their work included the establishment of the first ever Armenian agricultural village in Syria to provide a livelihood for displaced Armenians, settlements established by Jeppe and her helpers were noted for their prosperity in comparison to other camps that took in Armenians.
In November 1920, Denmark accepted the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
offer to act as a mediator
Mediator
Mediator may refer to:*A neutral party who assists in negotiations and conflict resolution, the process being known as mediation*Mediator variable in statistics*The Mediator pattern in computer science...
in the war between the Democratic Republic of Armenia
Democratic Republic of Armenia
The Democratic Republic of Armenia was the first modern establishment of an Armenian state...
and the Turkish nationalists under Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
.
After the 1988 Spitak earthquake in Armenia, Denmark donated aid to Armenia.
Modern Armenia
Since the modern state of Armenia gained independence in 1991, the two countries have worked to build ties, with both government and NGOs playing a role. According to the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, civil society agencies such as Mission Ost, the Danish Armenian Mission and the Danish Society for the Caucasus Research have been active in developing the bilateral relationship. In 2003, 100 illegal Armenian immigrants lived in Denmark, and was a subject for return to Armenia, in the negotiations between the two governments. In 2004, Armenia's President Robert Kocharyan discussed the developing relationship with the Danish Ambassador, conceding much work remained to be done. Both parties emphasised the importance of enhanced economic cooperation. In a 2009 diplomatic meeting with Denmark's new ambassador, Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan expressed a desire to further deepen their bilateral relationship, suggesting specific areas for increased cooperation such as agricultural and energy efficiency, where Denmark has considerable expertise. Both countries signed a double tax agreement to strengthen economic relations. Both countries signed an air service agreement in 2000. Armenia and Denmark signed a Readmission of persons with unauthorized stay agreement in April 2003.Armenian Genocide
Sources from various Danish workers active in Armenia during the early twentieth century have been used by Matthias Bjornlund to offer new perspectives on the Armenian GenocideArmenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
. The Danish government does not however officially recognise that the mass killings of Armenians should be classed as a Genocide, saying the judgement of whether to do so is a matter for historians.
In an open letter by the "Danish Department for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and the denial and relativization of the Armenian genocide", historians Torben Jorgensen
Torben Jorgensen
Torben Jørgensen is a Danish historian, Research Assistant at the Danish Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. He is an author of articles on the Hereros and the Ibos and about the Turkish denial of the Armenian genocide...
and Matthias Bjornlund wrote:
"When it comes to the historical reality of the Armenian genocide, there is no “Armenian” or “Turkish” side of the “question,” any more than there is a “Jewish” or a “German” side of the historical reality of the Holocaust: There is a scientific side, and an unscientific side acknowledgment or denial. In the case of the denial of the Armenian genocide, it is even founded on a massive effort of falsification, distortion, cleansing of archives, and direct threats initiated or supported by the Turkish state, making any “dialogue” with Turkish deniers highly problematic."
Development
In the second phase of the Neighborhood Program, Armenia has a high priority. The Neighborhood Program helps Armenia with ruralRural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
and economic development.
In 2004, Denmark signed an agreement to assist Armenia implementing the Clean Development Mechanism
Clean Development Mechanism
The Clean Development Mechanism is one of the "flexibility" mechanisms defined in the Kyoto Protocol . It is defined in Article 12 of the Protocol, and is intended to meet two objectives: to assist parties not included in Annex I in achieving sustainable development and in contributing to the...
(CDM) protocol and help reduce their emission of greenhouse gasses. The agreement came into force in March 2005. In 2006, Denmark assisted Armenia with 10 million DKK, for the disabled Armenian children.
Denmark sent observers through OSCE to Armenia in 2007, and provided 16 million DKK to Armenia's renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
project. Denmark also sent aid to Armenia after the humanitarian consequences of the Nagorno-Karabakh War
Nagorno-Karabakh War
The Nagorno-Karabakh War was an armed conflict that took place from February 1988 to May 1994, in the small enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in southwestern Azerbaijan, between the majority ethnic Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh backed by the Republic of Armenia, and the Republic of Azerbaijan...
.
In 2008, the two countries signed an agreement, promoting growth and employment in poor areas. Denmark provided 30 million DKK
Danish krone
The krone is the official currency of the Kingdom of Denmark consisting of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It is subdivided into 100 øre...
to the project, and 29 million DKK to the private sector
Private sector
In economics, the private sector is that part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is run by private individuals or groups, usually as a means of enterprise for profit, and is not controlled by the state...
and education. In September 2008, Denmark assisted Armenia, Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
with 50 million DKK, for the private sector programme. In June 2011, Denmark assisted Armenia with 4,7 million DKK to a programme of International Fund for Agricultural Development
International Fund for Agricultural Development
The International Fund for Agricultural Development , a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries...
for the farms in Armenia.
Trade
Danish exports to Armenia in 2008 was 30.6 million DKK, while Denmark's import from Armenia, was 5 million DKKDanish krone
The krone is the official currency of the Kingdom of Denmark consisting of Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Greenland. It is subdivided into 100 øre...
.
High level visits
In April 2003, Armenian Minister of Territorial Administration Hovik AbrahamyanHovik Abrahamyan
Hovik A. Abrahamyan is the current speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia.-Personal life:Hovik Abrahamyan was born on 24 January 1958 in Mkhchyan village, Ararat Marz of Armenia...
visited Denmark. In August 2004, Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs Per Stig Moller visited Armenia. In 2005, Denmark invited Armenian President Robert Kocharyan to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly 51st annual session in Copenhagen, but refused because Denmark also invited Turkish Premier Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
.
On 24 November 2011, the Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan visited Denmark for a meeting with the Danish Foreign Minister Villy Søvndal
Villy Søvndal
Villy Søvndal is a Danish politician and Minister for Foreign Affairs in the government of Denmark since October 2011. Søvndal, a member of the Danish Parliament since 1994, is also leader of the Socialist People's Party....
. Nalbandyan also thanked Denmark for the Danish assistance for the aftermath in the Spitak earthquake and in Armenia's progress since independence. Nalbandyan attended the opening of the new Armenian embassy in Denmark and stressed that: "Raising the Armenian flag in the capital of Denmark, we demonstrate our willingness to raise our bilateral relations to a new level."