Turkish gov’t documenting Yerevan’s reluctance to enforce reconciliation deal
The Turkish Foreign Ministry is drafting a document that examines
in detail the extent of compliance of the Armenian Constitutional
Court’s recent decision to approve the 2009 agreement on
normalizing the two countries’ strained relations with the gist of
the accord.
The document will clearly state that Yerevan is essentially leaning toward walking away from the two protocols it signed with Ankara on October 10, 2009 in Zurich, Turkish Hurriyet newspaper reported. Once ready, it will be sent to representatives of Switzerland, a mediator in the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, as well as to those of the United States, Russia and France, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG), which witnessed the signing of the protocols.
Turkish diplomats have already conveyed Ankara’s stance on the Armenian court’s January 12 ruling to Switzerland and the MG co-chairing countries.
After Armenia’s Constitutional Court declared that the October 2009 accord complied with the main law of the land, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it contained pre-conditions that are inconsistent with the document. The ministry said the pre-conditions and restrictive provisions cited in the ruling run counter to the premise of the protocols and that it "undermines the gist of negotiations on these protocols as well as their main goals", which is unacceptable.
Armenia and Turkey have been at odds and the border between the two countries has been closed since 1993 due to Armenia’s policy of occupation against Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, and past genocide claims. The Zurich protocols signed by the Armenian and Turkish governments, in a bid to normalize bilateral relations marred by decades of hostility, seek to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the two countries’ shared border. The documents, which still require parliamentary approval, also envision setting up a commission of historians to research the alleged World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
The Turkish opposition deems the situation surrounding the protocols as an impasse in the process of normalizing ties with Armenia. Deniz Baykal, the chairman of the People’s Republic Party, Turkey’s main opposition bloc, claimed this deadlock had resulted from the authorities’ improper policy toward neighboring states.*
The document will clearly state that Yerevan is essentially leaning toward walking away from the two protocols it signed with Ankara on October 10, 2009 in Zurich, Turkish Hurriyet newspaper reported. Once ready, it will be sent to representatives of Switzerland, a mediator in the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation, as well as to those of the United States, Russia and France, the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group (MG), which witnessed the signing of the protocols.
Turkish diplomats have already conveyed Ankara’s stance on the Armenian court’s January 12 ruling to Switzerland and the MG co-chairing countries.
After Armenia’s Constitutional Court declared that the October 2009 accord complied with the main law of the land, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it contained pre-conditions that are inconsistent with the document. The ministry said the pre-conditions and restrictive provisions cited in the ruling run counter to the premise of the protocols and that it "undermines the gist of negotiations on these protocols as well as their main goals", which is unacceptable.
Armenia and Turkey have been at odds and the border between the two countries has been closed since 1993 due to Armenia’s policy of occupation against Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, and past genocide claims. The Zurich protocols signed by the Armenian and Turkish governments, in a bid to normalize bilateral relations marred by decades of hostility, seek to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the two countries’ shared border. The documents, which still require parliamentary approval, also envision setting up a commission of historians to research the alleged World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.
The Turkish opposition deems the situation surrounding the protocols as an impasse in the process of normalizing ties with Armenia. Deniz Baykal, the chairman of the People’s Republic Party, Turkey’s main opposition bloc, claimed this deadlock had resulted from the authorities’ improper policy toward neighboring states.*
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