‘IF WE COME TO POWER, WE WILL TEAR THESE PROTOCOLS APART,’ SAYS TURKEY’S OPPOSITION

Tert
Oct 23 2009
Armenia

To alleviate the tensions between Azerbaijan and Turkey over the
so-called flag crisis, which erupted a week ago, Istanbul Aydın
University and the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Istanbul held a
conference on Thursday at the university to discuss a solution to the
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute, reports Turkish news source Today’s Zaman.

Speaking during the first session of the conference, Justice and
Development (AK) Party deputy Mustafa Kabakcı said there may be small
misunderstandings and conflicts between two countries but they should
not become permanent problems.

"There needs to be definite, concrete actions and steps taken to expand
security and trust in the region. We have discussed these protocols
[on the normalization of relations and the establishment of diplomatic
ties between Turkey and Armenia] with the parliament speaker and the
prime minister. We have decided not to approve the protocols if there
is no development noted in the Nagorno-Karabakh issue," he said.

Republican People’s Party (CHP) Deputy Chairman Onur Oymen said
they have done their best to promote peace and security in the South
Caucasus. "The region is not safe today. We saw wars in Georgia last
year, and the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is too fragile, there might be
wars in the region again," he said.

Criticizing the ruling AK Party over the protocols signed with Armenia,
Oymen said the protocols and the normalization of relations with
Armenia is the project of David Phillips, a senior analyst at the
Atlantic Council think tank in the United States.

He also said the protocols include neither a resolution of
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a condition for opening the
Armenian-Turkish border nor the Kars Treaty. "If we come to power,
we will tear these protocols [apart]," Oymen stated.