‘VERY DIFFICULT’ FOR TURKEY TO RATIFY PROTOCOLS, SAYS KEY PARLIAMENT LEADER

Asbarez
ult%e2%80%99-for-turkey-to-ratify-protocols-says-k ey-parliament-leader/
Feb 23rd, 2010

ANKARA-Citing a decision by Armenia’s Constitutional Court, which ruled
in favor of the Armenia-Turkey protocols last month, the chairman of
a key parliamentary commission of the Turkish parliament said Tuesday
that it would be difficult for Turkey to ratify the protocols.

"I think it is very difficult for Turkey to ratify the protocols under
these conditions because there is some level of uncertainty. There is
no clarity about how the protocols will be interpreted. Without this
clarity, we should not expect the Turkish Parliament to ratify the
protocols. While there is a negative attitude regarding two critical
factors from Turkey’s perspective, I don’t think it is likely for
Turkey to accept just opening the borders," said Turkish Parliament
Foreign Affairs Commission Chairman Murat Mercan in an interview with
Today’s Zaman.

Armenia’s Constitutional Court concluded that the protocols did not
violate the constitution, adding that the normalization of relations
with Turkey cannot be linked with a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict, nor impede Armenia from attaining international recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, as stipulated in the Constitution.

Since this ruling, Turkey has accused Armenia of attaching
preconditions to the ratification of the protocols, a move that has
been rejected by Armenia and the United States.

"When we look at the Armenian constitutional court’s ruling, we see
that there are clear provisions in the text stating how the protocols
can and cannot be interpreted. After all, it is an agreement between
two countries. It is not an international agreement. Only those
countries that are party to an agreement are bound by that agreement,"
said Mercan.

"At best there is uncertainty. In this kind of a situation, the
conditions for implementing an international bilateral agreement are
not completely clear. Take, for example, the issue of opening borders.

The court’s decision clearly states that ‘opening the borders does
not mean recognition of the Treaty of Kars,’" added Mercan.

The parliamentary leader also discussed another "uncertainty" emanating
from NATO’s role in Afghanistan and Turkey role in the regional
political reality. He immediately brought up the Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict.

"There are two main problems in the Caucasus that directly concern
Turkey. One of these is relations between Turkey and Armenia, and the
other is solving the problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan. When
we look at these two balances, if the ratification of the protocols
between Turkey and Armenia is going to exacerbate problems between
Armenia and Azerbaijan or severely jeopardize Azerbaijan’s national
interest, then the world should not want it, either. In other words,
it’s very important to maintain a balance," explained Mercan.

"It’s important to clearly see what Armenia will gain if the border
is opened, if diplomatic relations are established and if the problems
between Armenia and Azerbaijan are solved," he added. "The advantages
that are obvious as of now are Armenia’s border to the international
world will be opened, Armenia’s foreign trade will increase and Armenia
will be added to the natural gas and oil pipeline routes originating
from Azerbaijan."

Mercan said all these changes "will significantly contribute to
Armenia’s economy."

He pointed to a conversation with Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev,
where the latter "clearly told [him] that once problems were solved,
good economic relations would be established between Armenia and
Azerbaijan as well."

"Armenia is going to obtain a major advantage in terms of economy. On
the other hand, Turkey will have made a certain level of progress
on the recognition of its borders and on the genocide issue. If the
problem is solved and Armenia withdraws from Azerbaijan’s territories,
Armenia will not lose anything. That is because the international
community sees Armenia as an occupier and does not approve of its
occupation," said Mercan.

"If this does not happen, in other words, if relations between Turkey
and Armenia normalize but other balances are not considered, then the
international community should be unhappy about this as it will become
harder to solve the problems, and conditions that will most likely
lead to conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan will develop. In
other words, the risk the international community will face if the
problem is not completely solved will be greater than the risk they
currently face," he stated. "Countries in the region, Europe, America
and Russia should not want this possibility. It is for this reason
that we should not look at the issue as one that only concerns Turkey
and Armenia because this would be an incorrect point of view."

"The failure to show the necessary level of caution and sensitivity
could lead the countries mentioned above to sacrifice their own
strategic interests and policies for domestic policies. A prudent
person would realize the need for caution. Strategic interests should
not be sacrificed," added Mercan.