TURKISH OPPOSITION CRITICIZE AGREEMENT SIGNED BETWEEN YEREVAN AND ANKARA

/PanARMENIAN.Net/
12.10.2009 12:30 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Opposition parties of Turkey have criticized an
agreement signed between Turkey and Armenia on Saturday to establish
diplomatic relations by describing the move a "step backward" in
Turkish foreign policy.

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Onur
Oymen said that the protocol signed in Zurich is evidence that Turkey
has taken a step back in its fundamental foreign policy regarding
Armenia for the past 17 years.|

Indicating that a process of normalization with Armenia "can only take
place if Armenia withdraws from Azerbaijani territory", Oymen argued
that Turkey had made unilateral concessions with the agreement. "There
will be great pressure in Turkey following these signatures because
the protocol texts include articles about Turkey opening its border
and establishing diplomatic ties, but there is not even the slightest
sign that Armenia will withdraw from the territories it invaded. There
is not the slightest reference to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute,"
Oymen said.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli said the day
the agreement was signed was a "black day." He said protocols signed
with Armenia were not based on reciprocity and that they were not
equal and balanced.

Felicity Party (SP) leader Numan Kurtulmus, also joined the critics of
the protocol, describing it a "historic mistake." He said this issue
first being handled in Parliament, which represents the will of the
nation, was the necessity of democratic ethics. "The [Justice and
Development Party] AK Party’s concessive attitude under the cover
of its ‘zero problems policy’ not only undermines Turkish foreign
policy, it also casts a shadow over Turkey’s prestige," Kurtulmus,
said, reported Today’s Zaman.