Interfax, Russia
Jan 20 2010

Armenia blames Turkey for stalled efforts to normalize relations

YEREVAN Jan 20

Armenia’s foreign minister, in a phone call with his Turkish
counterpart on Wednesday, complained that the process of normalizing
Armenian-Turkish relations that began last year was stalled and blamed
Turkey for this, the Armenian Foreign Ministry told Interfax.

One target that Armenia’s minister, Eduard Nalbandian, attacked in his
phone conversation with Turkey’s Ahmet Davutoglu, was the Turkish
Ministry’s reaction to a ruling by the Armenian Constitutional Court
on Armenian-Turkish protocols signed last autumn and seen as the first
step along a road that may lead to diplomatic relations between the
two countries.

"The fact that the Turkish Foreign Ministry saw the decision of the
Armenian Constitutional Court as containing preconditions and
contradictions to the fundamental idea of the protocols is surprising,
to say the least," the Armenian Foreign Ministry press service quoted
Nalbandian as saying.

Nalbandian also complained that Turkey had made no progress to the
ratification of the protocols since October.

"Simultaneously, the Turkish side is consistently and openly trying to
set preconditions. This creates the impression that artificial excuses
are being sought and endangers the entire process of normalization of
Armenian-Turkish relations," said Nalbandian, who had requested the
phone call.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress