Azernews.Az

Substantial steps are in store for the process of normalizing Turkey-Armenia relations, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the press at the Ankara airport prior to leaving for Kazakhstan, Armenia Today news agency reported.
Asked whether Ankara’s political will in the reconciliation process with Yerevan remains strong, Davutoglu said Turkey’s resolve to promote peace and stability in volatile Caucasus is powerful. "Serious steps in this respect are expected over the long term."
The Turkish minister noted that the world community continues making an effort to advance the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and called on the parties interested in regional peace and stability to fulfill their commitments.
"I am confident that a normalization of relations will happen as soon as each of us fulfils their obligations. Let’s hope that this prospect is not far from materializing thanks to serious steps that will be taken in the near future."
Turkey and Armenia face decades of hostility due to Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Yerevan’s claims on 1915 "genocide". In an attempt to normalize ties, the two governments signed protocols in Zurich in late 2009 to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the two countries’ sealed borders. But tensions mounted again when Armenia’s Constitutional Court issued a ruling on January 12 that Ankara labeled as unfair and containing pre-conditions contradicting the premise of the reconciliation accord. The Armenian court had 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 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.*