Azernews.Az

The countries co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict are trying to pressure Turkey over ratifying the agreement on normalizing its relations with Armenia, Azerbaijani First Vice-Speaker Ziyafat Asgarov told a parliamentary sitting on Friday.
Asgarov noted that the Armenian Constitutional Court’s ruling issued in January had distorted the two protocols on normalizing ties signed by Ankara and Yerevan in Switzerland in late 2009. Thus, the decision essentially indicated that the allegations on World War I-era "genocide" in the Ottoman Empire and territorial claims against Turkey remain on the agenda.
"After that decision Turkey’s ratifying the protocols is impossible," Asgarov said. "This being said, serious problems have emerged in the Turkish-Armenian normalization process. But, despite the fact Armenia is entirely to blame for this, the Minsk Group co-chairing countries are trying to put pressure on Turkey, which is unfair."
The vice-speaker said the submission of a bill on 1915 "genocide" to US Congress serves to advance that goal. According to him, some circles attempt to blackmail Turkey every year when the anniversary of the alleged mass killings approaches in April. Addressing Congressmen, Asgarov said the issue of whether or not the Ottoman Turkey developments could be classified as genocide should be addressed not by politicians but by historians, which requires setting up a commission of history experts, according to Ankara’s proposal.
Armenia and Turkey have been at odds for decades, with the "genocide" issue being one of the obstacles to normal relations. In a bid to end the long-standing hostility, the two governments signed protocols in Zurich on October 10, 2009 to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders. The United States, Russia and France, which co-chair the Minsk Group, facilitated the signing of the Turkish-Armenian protocols. However, the documents require parliamentary ratification, and Ankara has ruled out normalization with Yerevan until the conflict between Armenia, which occupies part of Azerbaijani territory, and Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, has been fairly resolved. On January 12, Armenia’s Constitutional Court upheld the October 2009 accord, but leveled certain pre-conditions. The ruling outlined as an objective Yerevan’s pursuing recognition of the alleged 1915 killings as genocide. It also said the protocols signed with Turkey complied with the preamble of the country’s declaration of independence, which calls the neighboring country’s eastern provinces "Western Armenia". Ankara criticized the ruling, saying it contained pre-conditions contradicting the premise of the reconciliation accord.*