ARMENIA HALTS RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT WITH TURKEY
Associated Press Online
February 16, 2015 Monday 3:14 PM GMT
YEREVAN, Armenia
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - The Armenian president has asked the country's
parliament speaker to withdraw his signature from a groundbreaking 2009
agreement with Turkey meant to restore ties between the two nations,
his office said on Monday.
President Serge Sarkisian said in a statement on Monday that Armenia
would not ratify the agreement because of the "preconditions" that
Turkey is putting in place before it ratifies its part of the deal.
The agreement aims to restore diplomatic ties between the countries
as well as re-open the common border, which has been closed since 1993.
It was brokered by the United States and other nations.
In another sign of tensions between the countries, the Turkish
foreign minister recently urged Armenia to pull out its forces from
Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist region of Turkey's ally Azerbaijan.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region and some adjacent territory have been
under the control of Armenian soldiers and local Armenian forces
since a 1994 cease-fire that ended a six-year war.
Associated Press Online
February 16, 2015 Monday 3:14 PM GMT
YEREVAN, Armenia
YEREVAN, Armenia (AP) - The Armenian president has asked the country's
parliament speaker to withdraw his signature from a groundbreaking 2009
agreement with Turkey meant to restore ties between the two nations,
his office said on Monday.
President Serge Sarkisian said in a statement on Monday that Armenia
would not ratify the agreement because of the "preconditions" that
Turkey is putting in place before it ratifies its part of the deal.
The agreement aims to restore diplomatic ties between the countries
as well as re-open the common border, which has been closed since 1993.
It was brokered by the United States and other nations.
In another sign of tensions between the countries, the Turkish
foreign minister recently urged Armenia to pull out its forces from
Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist region of Turkey's ally Azerbaijan.
The Nagorno-Karabakh region and some adjacent territory have been
under the control of Armenian soldiers and local Armenian forces
since a 1994 cease-fire that ended a six-year war.