Sarkisian urges Turkey ‘to take first step’
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian has said a country "seeking a
region without sealed borders" should take the first step forward
and open the Turkey-Armenia border, Armenian media quoted him as
saying during discussions with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu in Kyiv on Thursday.
Sarkisian said during the talks, held on the sidelines of the newly-elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich’s inauguration, that political will is required to advance toward that goal, according to his press-service.
"We believe that the Armenian-Turkish normalization process should reach its logical conclusion in a short time. Otherwise, as repeatedly stated, Armenia will revoke its signatures under the protocols," Sarkisian said, referring to the two protocols signed in October 2009 to begin the fence-mending process.
The protocols, signed in Zurich, aim to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the sealed borders between the two countries, after decades of hostility caused by Armenia’s occupying Azerbaijani territory and Armenian claims on an alleged World War I-era genocide in the Ottoman Empire. The documents require ratification in both countries’ parliaments. Turkish officials have assured Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, that the protocols will not pass in the country’s parliament until progress is made in resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh.
Sarkisian claimed that Azerbaijan’s pressure could prevent Turkey’s ratifying the protocols, however, nothing stands in the way of executive authorities’ opening the border before the documents are approved in parliament.
He ruled out Ankara’s involvement in settling the Garabagh conflict due to its unequivocally adhering to a pro-Azerbaijan stance.
The Armenian president also noted that he and Davutoglu did not have a separate meeting in the Ukrainian capital. Though Sarkisian had refused to meet with the Turkish minister, the latter approached the Armenian leader during a banquet and started the conversation.
Turkish media quoted Davutoglu as saying on Thursday that the one-hour discussions covered a wide range of issues including the overall situation in the South Caucasus region, the Turkey-Armenia reconciliation process and the OSCE Minsk Group-brokered process aiming to resolve the Garabagh problem. According to the minister, this was his first communication with Sarkisian after the Armenian Constitutional Court’s ruling on the reconciliation accords, which was criticized by Ankara.*
Sarkisian said during the talks, held on the sidelines of the newly-elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich’s inauguration, that political will is required to advance toward that goal, according to his press-service.
"We believe that the Armenian-Turkish normalization process should reach its logical conclusion in a short time. Otherwise, as repeatedly stated, Armenia will revoke its signatures under the protocols," Sarkisian said, referring to the two protocols signed in October 2009 to begin the fence-mending process.
The protocols, signed in Zurich, aim to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the sealed borders between the two countries, after decades of hostility caused by Armenia’s occupying Azerbaijani territory and Armenian claims on an alleged World War I-era genocide in the Ottoman Empire. The documents require ratification in both countries’ parliaments. Turkish officials have assured Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, that the protocols will not pass in the country’s parliament until progress is made in resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh.
Sarkisian claimed that Azerbaijan’s pressure could prevent Turkey’s ratifying the protocols, however, nothing stands in the way of executive authorities’ opening the border before the documents are approved in parliament.
He ruled out Ankara’s involvement in settling the Garabagh conflict due to its unequivocally adhering to a pro-Azerbaijan stance.
The Armenian president also noted that he and Davutoglu did not have a separate meeting in the Ukrainian capital. Though Sarkisian had refused to meet with the Turkish minister, the latter approached the Armenian leader during a banquet and started the conversation.
Turkish media quoted Davutoglu as saying on Thursday that the one-hour discussions covered a wide range of issues including the overall situation in the South Caucasus region, the Turkey-Armenia reconciliation process and the OSCE Minsk Group-brokered process aiming to resolve the Garabagh problem. According to the minister, this was his first communication with Sarkisian after the Armenian Constitutional Court’s ruling on the reconciliation accords, which was criticized by Ankara.*
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