Azg Daily, Armenia
April 8 2010

EU SUPPORTS THE PROTOCOLS’ RATIFICATION WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS AND
WITHIN A REASONABLE TIMEFRAME

By Aghavni Harutyunyan

"The European Union encourages Armenia and Turkey to continue the
process of normalization of relations and calls on the two countries
to ratify and implement the bilateral protocols without preconditions
and within a reasonable timeframe", Catherine Ashton, Vice president
of the European Commission, EU High Representative on Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy, announced on April 6 according to the EU official
statement.

The statement of the EU High Representative is of interest, as Stefan
Fule, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy, made
similar statement the same day in Yerevan.

Consequently, the European Union, during a day, has twice underlined
that the process related to the protocols should be without
preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe.

According to him, in this context, the European Union welcomes the
Armenian president’s decision to send the protocols to parliament, as
well as the recent statement of the Turkish president to remain
faithful to the protocols. Ashton underscored, "The European Union
believes that full normalization of relations between Armenia and
Turkey will be an important investment in the security, stability and
cooperation of the South Caucasus".

According to the EU High Representative, the European Union will
continue to support this process politically and technically; it is
ready to support the coordinated steps taken by the two countries.