ANKARA CONCERNED ABOUT "CONFUSING SIGNALS" FROM YEREVAN

2010/02/2 6 | 17:48

Region

According to reports in the Turkish press, Ankara remains unsatisfied
that Armenia is committed to normalizing relations with its western
neighbour.

Hurriyet reports that a senior Turkish Foreign Ministry official said
today that, "Confusing signals are coming from the Armenian side." The
official was referring to the law recently passed by the Armenian
parliament that would make it easier for Yerevan to ultimately pull
out of the Protocol ratification process.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with President Sargsyan
in Kiev on Thursday while attending the inauguration of Ukraine’s
newly-elected President Victor Yanukovych. Hurriyet reports that the
meeting lasted for over a hour although it was scheduled for much less.

The paper claims that Turkish diplomatic sources are concerned with
the contradictions in Armenia’s words and deeds, underlining that
Yerevan has repeatedly said that Protocols will not be put to a vote
before ratification by the Turkish parliament.

"I cannot understand the basis of the Armenian claim that one of the
parties concerned would ratify the agreements before the other party.

There is nothing about Turkey’s pre-approval in either the protocols’
texts or under international law," Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak
Ozugergin told the Hurriyet.