ANKARA: Turkey’s PM pledges commitment to Armenian agreements

Anadolu Agency, Turkey
April 7 2010

Turkey’s PM pledges commitment to Armenian agreements

Paris, 7 April: The Turkish prime minister said on Wednesday that
Turkey would not step back regarding the protocols it signed with
Armenia in Switzerland.

Replying to questions of reporters following his gathering with CEOs
of leading French companies in Paris, Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan revealed the contents of the letter he sent to Armenian
President Serzh Sargsian by a special envoy today.

"This is what I can say about the main theme of the letter: Turkey
believes in the principle of ‘pacta sund servanda’ and it is
determined to act in accordance to that. Therefore, we will always
show commitment to the signatures we have put down in Switzerland.
Unless there are extraordinary circumstances, we will not step back,"
he said.

Erdogan said both Turkey and Armenia should fulfil their
responsibilities and be loyal to each other.

Pointing to the importance of carrying out the process through a
history commission, Erdogan said, "Turkey is ready to do all the
necessary things on such matter, however, this cannot be done through
the lobbies formed in the parliaments of various countries. On the
contrary, it will make the process more complicated".

Upon a question on whether he would meet with Sargsian in Washington
D.C., Erdogan said, "As you know I sent my special envoy to Mr
Sargsian today. I have a letter for him. I will make an assessment
once I get some results. I have a positive approach, but I will make
my final decision after my envoy returns".