ANKARA DEMANDS LEGAL GUARANTEES FROM YEREVAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
27.01.2010 14:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Turkey anticipates legal guarantees from Yerevan
over RA Constitutional Court’s decision on Armenia-Turkey Protocols.

Ankara plans to launch juridical consultations with United States and
Switzerland to enshrine in the documents a clause that RA CC decision
will not influence the contents of the Protocols, Zaman reports.

As diplomatic sources told the newspaper, Turkey has already informed
all countries involved in the current normalization process (including
EU and OSCE Minsk Group) that it will make no step towards ratification
of Protocols unless it receives written guarantees.

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.

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.