Azernews.Az

A dispute has flared up in the Turkish parliament over the agreement on normalizing relations signed with Armenia in 2009.
The controversy flared up on Thursday at the closed-door meeting of the Grand National Assembly’s foreign affairs commission. Members of the opposition People’s Republic Party and the Nationalist Movement Party demanded immediately remanding the two protocols inked with Yerevan on October 10, 2009, given the Armenian Constitutional Court’s recent ruling which Ankara labeled as inconsistent with the protocols, Turkey’s Vatan newspaper reported.
The Armenian court on January 12 ruled that the protocols signed in Zurich were in line with the introductory part of the country’s Constitution and the declaration of independence. The declaration of independence, however, levels territorial claims against Turkey and calls the neighboring country’s eastern provinces "Western Armenia". Moreover, the declaration says achieving international recognition of the alleged World War I-era mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire is a task facing the Armenian government.
On January 19, 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 run counter to the premise of the reconciliation accord. Further, the ministry began drafting a document that examines in detail the extent of compliance of the Armenian court’s decision with the gist of the protocols.
MPs representing the People’s Republic Party said the ruling had confirmed the fair cause of the Turkish opposition, which opposed the protocols. They noted that Turkey should put forth a firm and clear-cut stance regarding the court ruling, and the foreign affairs commission should return the protocols to the government.
The Nationalist Movement Party members concurred with the statements, calling on the authorities to extend an apology to the Turkish people.
But MPs from the ruling AK party suggested being patient in this respect. They said Turkey’s fair cause will sooner or later be revealed and the whole world will realize that it is Armenia that is unwilling to resolve the outstanding differences.
Murad Mercan, chairman of the foreign affairs commission, agreed that the Armenian court ruling contradicted the premise of the protocols but warned against taking hasty steps.
"This decision has put a crimp in the [normalization] process. But we should not rush in. First, let’s get feedback from the Foreign Ministry’s lawyers, then we’ll discuss it and make our decision."
Deniz Baykal, the chairman of the People’s Republic Party, Turkey’s main opposition bloc, believes that the Turkish government had taken an erroneous step from the very beginning by launching a reconciliation process with Armenia under the United States’ clout. Baykal said that, prior to the signing of the protocols with Yerevan, a high-ranking US delegation had approached him, seeking to muster support for the agreement. American officials said that, by taking the step, Armenia will gradually draw closer to the West.
"I told them that they will not be able to distance Armenia from Russia anyhow, that this is not and will not be possible. I recalled that there are Russian tanks in Armenia. I advised them to enquire about Azerbaijan instead, because Azerbaijan is closer to the West and its economy is strong. The Americans failed to convince me but did convince the government."
The protocols, signed in Zurich by Turkey, Azerbaijan’s ally, and Armenia, with whom Azerbaijan faces a long-standing conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, seek to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the two countries’ sealed borders. The move was an attempt to break the ice in normalizing Ankara-Yerevan relations, marred by decades of hostility due to Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Yerevan’s claims on 1915 "genocide".*