ARMENIAN CONSTITUTIONAL COURT WILL NOT DECIDE ON PROTOCOLS, UNLESS TURKEY DOES: ARMENIAN EXPERT

Trend
Jan 12 2010
Azerbaijan

There is little or no chance that Jan.12 the Armenian Constitutional
Court’s decision and the actions by the Armenian parliament later, will
go against the wishes of the Armenian government and President Serzh
Sargsyan, Director of Armenian Center for National and International
Studies Richard Giragosian believes.

"The Armenian government is committed to adopting the protocols,
but only after or at the same time as Turkey," Giragosian wrote Trend
News in an e-mail.

At the meeting on Tuesday, the Armenian Constitutional Court reviewed
the constitutionality of the Armenian-Turkish protocols, after which
the court members retired to the deliberation room to make a decision,
ARKA reported.

Armenian Constitutional Court Chairman Gagik Harutyunyan said that
according to the court’s decision the case is reviewed in a written
procedural order based on documents presented to the court.

Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward
Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocols in Zurich Oct. 10.

Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey have been broken due
to Armenia’s claims of an alleged genocide, and its occupation of
Azerbaijani lands. The border between them has been broken since 1993.

According to the expert, the status of the protocols has been stalled
or delayed, but with the delay limited to the Turkish side only.

"The real challenge is limited to the Turkish side and there is
a real danger that if Turkey fails to meet the expectations of
the international community by ratifying the protocols "within a
reasonable timeframe," Turkey may suffer a strategic loss and may
even pay a price for turning back after so much diplomatic capital
has already been extended by all sides," he added.