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"PROTOCOLS ARE ALREADY EXHAUSTED"
http://www.a1plus.am/en/politics/2012/10/10/protocols
08:14 pm | Today | Politics
On October 10, 2009, in the Faculty of History at the University
of Zurich, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey signed a
diplomatic agreement - consisting of two protocols - to establish
normalized diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The ceremony, scheduled for around 8 p.m. (Yerevan time) was delayed
for 3,5 hours. This was an unprecedented phenomenon in the history
of diplomatic relations as the sides usually put their signatures on
documents after clarifying all doubtful questions.
Later it was told that the signing ceremony was delayed as the
Armenian delegation objected to a statement that the Turkish side
wanted to add to the proceedings. It was widely believed that the
statement was intended to link the Nagorno Karabakh settlement to
the rapprochement process - a condition the Armenians have objected
to from the start of negotiations.
Neither side issued a statement following the signing as had initially
been planned, an idea apparently scrapped as a consequence of the
dispute that led to the signing delay.
In reply to the tension of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian,
who was putting his name on the documents, Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu
gave a ghastly smile.
Following the ceremony, hundreds of thousands of Armenians spoke
against the protocols. A number of opposition and nationalist forces
vehemently criticized the documents, citing its prerequisites.
A joint headquarters was formed which regularly organized protests and
marches against the controversial document. The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaksutsyun even demanded the resignation of the Foreign
Minister and held a sit-in protest.
The wave of protest calmed down when the Constitutional Court
of Armenia dismissed the outrage over the preconditions, thereby
excluding or minimizing the speculations voiced by the Turkish side.
Following the events, the protocols were withdrawn from the agenda of
the Turkish Majlis. However, the parliamentary groups of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutsyun and Heritage continued to
demand the Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly to remove the
documents from the agenda.
Armen Martirosyan, who headed the Heritage faction in 2009-2010,
says their demand is still in force. "The earlier Armenia withdraws
its signature, the better for the country as we see that Turkey is
continuing its non-friendly relations. If earlier they displayed
a neutral posture in the Karbakh issue, today Turkey demands that
Armenian withdraw its troops from the liberated territories," he said.
On April 22, 2010 Serzh Sargsyan eventually declared his decision to
freeze the reconciliation process as long as Turkey did not decide
to ratify the protocols.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in Armenia that
'the ball is in Turkey's court.'
Artak Zakaryan, Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign
Relations, says the international community unanimously hailed the
protocols and still has a good opinion of the document as it focuses
on ensuring long-term stability in the region.
Armen Martirosyan is convinced that Armenian authorities do not want
to withdraw the protocols from the agenda in order to avoid further
problems with their foreign partners, who can, in their turn, create
internal problems for the authorities.
Artak Zakaryan believes that any reference to the protocols can only
have a positive impact on Armenia's reputation. "Our future steps
depend on Turkey," he said.
Mr Martirosyan thinks that Armenian should get rid of the protocols
as quickly as possible as the protocols are already exhausted.
http://www.a1plus.am/en/politics/2012/10/10/protocols
08:14 pm | Today | Politics
On October 10, 2009, in the Faculty of History at the University
of Zurich, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey signed a
diplomatic agreement - consisting of two protocols - to establish
normalized diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The ceremony, scheduled for around 8 p.m. (Yerevan time) was delayed
for 3,5 hours. This was an unprecedented phenomenon in the history
of diplomatic relations as the sides usually put their signatures on
documents after clarifying all doubtful questions.
Later it was told that the signing ceremony was delayed as the
Armenian delegation objected to a statement that the Turkish side
wanted to add to the proceedings. It was widely believed that the
statement was intended to link the Nagorno Karabakh settlement to
the rapprochement process - a condition the Armenians have objected
to from the start of negotiations.
Neither side issued a statement following the signing as had initially
been planned, an idea apparently scrapped as a consequence of the
dispute that led to the signing delay.
In reply to the tension of Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian,
who was putting his name on the documents, Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglu
gave a ghastly smile.
Following the ceremony, hundreds of thousands of Armenians spoke
against the protocols. A number of opposition and nationalist forces
vehemently criticized the documents, citing its prerequisites.
A joint headquarters was formed which regularly organized protests and
marches against the controversial document. The Armenian Revolutionary
Federation-Dashnaksutsyun even demanded the resignation of the Foreign
Minister and held a sit-in protest.
The wave of protest calmed down when the Constitutional Court
of Armenia dismissed the outrage over the preconditions, thereby
excluding or minimizing the speculations voiced by the Turkish side.
Following the events, the protocols were withdrawn from the agenda of
the Turkish Majlis. However, the parliamentary groups of the Armenian
Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutsyun and Heritage continued to
demand the Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly to remove the
documents from the agenda.
Armen Martirosyan, who headed the Heritage faction in 2009-2010,
says their demand is still in force. "The earlier Armenia withdraws
its signature, the better for the country as we see that Turkey is
continuing its non-friendly relations. If earlier they displayed
a neutral posture in the Karbakh issue, today Turkey demands that
Armenian withdraw its troops from the liberated territories," he said.
On April 22, 2010 Serzh Sargsyan eventually declared his decision to
freeze the reconciliation process as long as Turkey did not decide
to ratify the protocols.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in Armenia that
'the ball is in Turkey's court.'
Artak Zakaryan, Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Foreign
Relations, says the international community unanimously hailed the
protocols and still has a good opinion of the document as it focuses
on ensuring long-term stability in the region.
Armen Martirosyan is convinced that Armenian authorities do not want
to withdraw the protocols from the agenda in order to avoid further
problems with their foreign partners, who can, in their turn, create
internal problems for the authorities.
Artak Zakaryan believes that any reference to the protocols can only
have a positive impact on Armenia's reputation. "Our future steps
depend on Turkey," he said.
Mr Martirosyan thinks that Armenian should get rid of the protocols
as quickly as possible as the protocols are already exhausted.