AZERBAIJANI POLITICAL ANALYST: ARMENIAN PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT PURELY THEATRICAL

Trend
April 23 2010
Azerbaijan

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s statement is purely theatrical
taking into account the failure of the Zurich protocols, Azerbaijani
political analyst Fikret Sadikhov said.

"Even after signing the Zurich protocols and the amendments to the
Armenian Constitutional Court, which contradicted Ankara’s interests,
it became clear that Turkey will not ratify the documents in the form
Armenia would like to see them. Yerevan decided to make a proactive
step," Sadikhov told Trend, commenting on yesterday’s statement by
the Armenian president.

Sargsyan signed a decree and suspended the ratification of the
Armenian-Turkish protocols in parliament, News-Armenia reported.

"Sargsyan signed a decree on the suspension of the ratification of the
Zurich protocols signed Oct. 10. The Armenian foreign minister was
charged to inform Turkey about the suspension of their ratification
in accordance with the presidential decree," the news agency reported.

"The amendments to Constitutional Court indicated that the country does
not actually refuse its territorial claims to Turkey and will continue
to push the resolutions on the 1915 events. But the Zurich protocols
provide for the establishment of a joint commission of scholars and
historians to study the events of those years," political analyst
said. "Armenia has ignored all the facts, which were laid out in the
Zurich protocols. It sounds ironic, but Armenia wanted to overcome
a difficult situation and the isolation in which it found itself,
improve the economic situation in the country, and at the same
time continue to make territorial claims against Turkey, push the
resolutions on the 1915 events, and refuse to resolve the Karabakh
problem, keeping Azerbaijani territory under the occupation. However,
this cannot happen."

Armenia realized that its mission to resolve its domestic problems
by besting Azerbaijan and Turkey is impossible, and Ankara will
never ratify the protocols in this form, the analyst said. Thus,
the president decided to take a proactive step, he added.

In fact, even before yesterday’s announcement, it was clear the Zurich
protocols would not be approved in the form in which they were signed
in October last year, Sadikhov said.

"This is nonsense. The county’s desire to overcome a difficult
situation must be associated with some compromises, especially if a
country is at war with a neighboring state and this state is closely
linked with Turkey. So, it is necessary to take into account many
factors, fine points. If all these details are ignored and the country
continues to take care of its personal well-being and does not remove
its claims and ambitions from the agenda. The result of the situation
happened since October last year up to now is quite obvious.

Sargsyan’s statement is a purely theatrical gesture, coming from an
understanding that in any case, the protocols will not be approved by
the parliaments of these countries in a such form," the analyst said.