AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
November 12, 2009 Thursday

ARMENIA OPPOSITION LEADER HAILS SARKISIANS POLICY ON TURKEY

An Armenian opposition leader who is a vocal critic of the government
has welcomed President Serzh Sarkisians efforts to mend ties with
Turkey marred by decades of hostility. Levon Ter-Petrosian, a former
president, at a Wednesday meeting at the Armenian National Congress he
chairs, voiced support of his bloc for all but one provision of the
reconciliation agreement signed by Yerevan and Ankara last month,
including those on recognizing present-day borders with the
neighboring country. The Congress disagrees with the plans to research
the alleged World War I-era genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire through a joint commission of historians. Turkey and Armenia
signed protocols to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their
borders on October 10. However, the documents require ratification in
both countries parliaments to take effect, and Ankara has made clear
it could fully normalize ties with Yerevan only after the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict has been settled.
Ter-Petrosian also said his bloc could recognize President Sarkisians
legitimacy. The opposition leader, who says the February 2008
presidential election was rigged, has, so far, been calling for
canceling the election results and holding a new vote. Ter-Petrosian
said in June that he would never hold dialog with the incumbent
president.