Turkish Parliament to Vote on Protocols In October, Says Erdogan

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By Asbarez Staff on Sep 24th, 2009

NEW YORK (Anatolian)-The normalization talks between Turkey and
Armenia have entered a `sensitive’ phase, according to Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said Thursday that the protocols
guiding the establishment and development of relations between Turkey
and Armenia will be sent to the Turkish Parliament next month for
ratification.

`We have reached an important stage with the step we have taken with
Switzerland’s mediation and I believe we can send the initialed
document to Parliament if we do not face any prejudice and if steps
are not taken by thinking just about the internal politics,’ Erdogan
told a conference at Princeton University near New York late on
Wednesday.

He said the document would be sent to the Turkish Parliament on
Oct. 10 or 11.

The prime minister also said Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian could
visit Turkey for a World Cup qualifier between Turkey and Armenia in
October. Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited Armenia for an away
match last year.

`Turkey will have neighborly relations with Armenia within the
framework of mutual respect,’ he said.
Erdogan said there was need for dialogue that would bring together
regional countries, referring to Turkey’s proposal of a stability and
cooperation platform in the Caucasus. He said Turkey aimed to make the
region a basin of peace and wanted to solve Azerbaijan-Armenia,
Turkey-Armenia and Russia-Georgia problems through this platform.

The Turkish prime minister listed the world’s recent problems as wars,
the economic crisis, hunger, poverty, terrorism, energy safety and
climate change, and underlined the need for a new global order.

`There should be a fair and pluralist order embracing everyone, based
on confidence and which sees differences as a richness,’ Erdogan
said. He said there was need for a new understanding of leadership,
adding, `Turkey can contribute to the new global order.’

On the stalled Middle East peace negotiations, Erdogan said: `Is it
possible to see the Middle Eastern problem as only a regional problem?
I believe many problems in the world will be solved when the
Israeli-Palestinian dispute is overcome.’

The prime minister also said the new economic order should also be
fair. Referring to the cultural aspect of the new global order,
Erdogan said Turkey had assumed the co-leadership of the Alliance of
Civilizations, proving it was possible and necessary for different
cultures and civilizations to live in a constructive atmosphere.