TURKISH PM THREATENS TO COLLAPSE ARMENIAN-TURKISH DIALOGUE
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.01.2010 17:16 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenia seem to conduct an audit of the
Armenian-Turkish Protocols’ text. If the Constitutional Court of
Armenia does not reconsider its decision, the negotiations with Armenia
will reach a dead end, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ,
on a visit to a Saudi Arabia, said, Turkish media reported.
When Turkish Prime Minister made statements in Saudi Arabia, the
foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey Edward Nalbandian and Ahmet
Davutoglu held a telephone conversation. According to the Turkish
Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Burak Ozugergin, RA FM called Turkish
counterpart and expressed his concerns in regard to statements made by
Turkish Foreign Ministry about the decision of Armenian Constitutional
Court on the Protocols.
During the telephone conversation, Turkey’s foreign minister said
that "the decision of the Armenian Constitutional Court contains
unacceptable preconditions".
Commenting on the decision of the Armenian Constitutional Court, the
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the decision contains
preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and
spirit of the Protocols.
"The decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these
Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach
cannot be accepted on our part. Turkey, in line with its accustomed
allegiance to its international commitments, maintains its adherence
to the primary provisions of these Protocols.
We expect the same allegiance from the Armenian Government," the
Ministry said.
The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.
On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.