ARMENIA AGAIN THREATENS TO SCRAP TURKEY ACCORD
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26.02.2010
President Serzh Sarkisian made late on Thursday his most explicit
threat yet to annul Armenia’s normalization agreements with Turkey
in what appeared to be a tense conversation with Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reported the next day. (UPDATED)
The two men spoke in Kiev on the sidelines of the swearing-in of
Ukraine’s newly elected president, Viktor Yanukovich. Davutoglu
told Turkish journalists there that the "meeting" centered on
Turkish-Armenian relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"We reviewed the Turkish -Armenian normalization relationship in
its entirety with open hearts today, including our anxieties and
the obstacles we face," Davutoglu said, according to "Hurriyet
Daily News." "We spoke about Armenian- Azerbaijan relations and the
activities of the Minsk Group as related to the Karabakh issue."
Sarkisian’s press office clarified that the two held on talks as
such, saying that Davutoglu "approached and exchanged views" with
the Armenian president during a reception hosted by Yanukovich. It
said Sarkisian told him that the ratification of the Turkish-Armenian
"protocols" must be completed "within the shortest possible time."
"Or else, as was stated before, the Republic of Armenia will withdraw
its signatures from the protocols," the office said in a statement
circulated on Friday.
Sarkisian first publicly warned of such possibility in early December.
He instructed the Armenian government to draft legal amendments
regulating Yerevan’s possible pullout from international treaties. The
Armenian parliament adopted them in the final reading on Thursday.
Sarkisian was quoted by his office as also telling Davutoglu that
Turkey could open its border with Armenia before ratifying the
protocols. "A country dreaming about a region without borders should
take the first step and end Armenia’s blockade," he said, scoffing
at Ankara’s stated efforts to promote peace and stability in the
South Caucasus.
"If Azerbaijani pressure does not allow Turkey’s parliament to ratify
the protocols, then nothing keeps Turkey’s executive authority from
opening, even before the protocol ratification, the border between
the two states which it itself had closed," he added.
Sarkisian also ruled out any Turkish involvement in the Karabakh peace
process. He pointed to Turkey’s "unilateral military assistance" to
Azerbaijan and "biased statements" on Karabakh made by Turkish leaders.
In a related development, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
reaffirmed on Thursday Washington’s support for the quick and
unconditional ratification of the protocols. "We are working very
hard to assist Armenia and Turkey in their efforts and we would like
to continue to support that effort and not be diverted in any way at
all," Clinton told U.S. lawmakers.
"The normalization process, which carries important benefits for both
sides, should take place without preconditions and within an obvious,
reasonable timeframe," she said.