TURKEY-ARMENIA RAPPROCHEMENT COULD LAST UP TO 20 YEARS

AssA-Irada
February 9, 2010 Tuesday
Azerbaijan

The Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland has said a
rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia, the two neighbors that face
decades of hostility, could last five to ten, or even twenty years. I
dont know whether or not the protocols signed by Turkey and Armenia
will be passed in the two countries parliaments, Jagland told CNN Turk
TV channel in Turkey. There are political hurdles standing in the way.

But the first step has been taken, and I am confident that this
wont be the last one, Jagland said. Turkey and Armenia do not have
diplomatic relations and the border between the two countries has
been closed since 1993. Armenia’s occupation of the territories of
Azerbaijan, Turkeys ally, and Yerevans claims on the 1915 genocide
have been obstacles to normal relations between the two countries. On
October 10, 2009, the two governments signed two protocols to establish
diplomatic relations and reopen their borders, in a bid to normalize
their strained relations. However, the documents require parliamentary
ratification, and Ankara has ruled out normalization with Yerevan
until progress is made in resolving the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper
(Nagorno) Garabagh conflict.