Azernews.Az

WASHNGTON D.C. – WikiLeaks has published a letter addressed by Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton immediately after the signing of Armenian-Turkish reconciliation accords in 2009.

In his letter, submitted to US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Tina Kaidanow during her visit to Yerevan just 10 days after the signing of the protocols in Zurich, Nalbandyan stated Armenia’s alleged readiness to respect its obligations deriving from the protocols.

"A last minute glitch caused by the Turkish side in Zurich clearly demonstrated that we now need to focus on the subsequent phases of normalization of relations in order to keep the positive momentum and prevent developments that can potentially derail the process," the letter says.

The Armenian minister wrote that once ratified and properly implemented, the documents will provide foundation for the relationship between Armenia and Turkey and could be beneficial for the entire South Caucasus region.

"After more than a year of hard work the sides reached very important but at the same time still very fragile stage of the normalization process and your support is very important not to lose the historic chance for reconciliation between the two peoples," he added.

Turkey and Armenia have been at odds for decades due to Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Armenian claims on 1915 "genocide" in the Ottoman Empire. The reconciliation agreements, signed by Ankara and Yerevan in October 2009, require parliamentary approval. However, Turkey has assured Azerbaijan, its ally, that the protocols will not be ratified until progress is made in resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. In response, Armenia suspended ratification of the protocols in April 2010.

Turkey’s new parliament invalidated the protocols this week. According to the Grand National Assembly’s bylaws, the bills not discussed by the previous parliament are considered null and void.