U.S. STANDS FOR SOONEST RATIFICATION OF PROTOCOLS

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.01.2010 11:59 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Stemming from the agreement between Turkey and
Armenia late last year, it is important that both sides take steps to
fulfill the commitments that they have made, said Philip Crowley, U.S.

Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Public Affairs.

"Obviously, we understand that this involves actions where the
executive branch of each country working with their respective
legislatures, and we will continue our conversations with both Turkey
and Armenia to encourage them to ratify the agreement that was reached
late last year," he 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.

The United States welcomed last week the ruling by Armenia’s
Constitutional Court, effectively dismissing Turkey’s claims that it
runs counter to the Turkish-Armenian fence-mending agreements. "We
view the court decision as a positive step forward in the ratification
process of the normalization protocols between Turkey and Armenia,"
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon said. "The court
decision permits the protocols, as they were negotiated and signed,
to move forward towards parliamentary ratification, and does not
appear to limit or qualify them in any way."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress