TURKISH MEDIA: PARLIAMENT APPROVAL DEPENDS ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH DISPUTE

ArmInfo
2009-10-13 11:38:00

ArmInfo. Following the signing of a protocol on Saturday between
Turkey and Armenia to establish diplomatic relations, the approval
process of the protocol in the Turkish Parliament will begin after
Armenia withdraws from Nagorno- Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory,
government sources told Today’s Zaman.

Justice and Development Party (AK Party) parliamentary group deputy
chairman Bekir Bozdag said the approval process of the agreement will
depend on Armenia’s withdrawal from the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Stressing that the entire world wants the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
to be settled, parliamentary foreign affairs committee spokesman
and AK Party deputy Suat Kiniklloglu said: "The internal process
in Parliament is, of course, clearly defined in the regulations of
Parliament. It will first come to the foreign affairs committee and
will be debated there. If it passes the committee, then it will be
sent to the advisory council of the speaker’s office and from there
it would be sent to the floor of the general assembly.

When and how this process will fare is dependent on parallel
processes. Here the political will and courage of the Azerbaijani
and Armenian leadership is key. The Minsk Group demonstrated its
support during and before the signing ceremony. Not only Turkey and
our Parliament but the whole world is expecting positive movement
on Karabakh."

Kiniklloglu said a significant step has been taken toward
normalization in the southern Caucasus, as he added: "This is a
historic process. We welcome the overall optimism and encourage the
parties to take appropriate steps to further strengthen the ongoing
process of normalization in the South Caucasus. We always maintained
that Turkish-Armenian normalization is forcing the South Caucasus to
be transformed into a stable and predictable neighborhood of Turkey."

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist
Movement Party (MHP) accused the government of taking a "backward
step" in Turkish foreign policy by signing the deal with Armenia and
say the protocol will place Azerbaijan in a difficult situation and
should not be approved by Parliament. CHP deputy leader Onur Oymen
said the protocol, which he said included the demands of Armenia,
does not have any chance of being approved by Parliament, while MHP
group deputy chairman Oktay Vural called on the entire nation to stand
up against the approval of the protocol in the Turkish Parliament.