TURKEY EVALUATING THE POSSIBLE REPERCUSSIONS OF YEREVAN’S CALL TO HALT RATIFICATION OF THE PROTOCOLS
armradio.am
23.04.2010 12:52
Yerevan’s call to halt ratification of an accord on normalizing ties
has Turkey evaluating the possible legal and political repercussions,
and prompted the country’s leader to reiterate his commitment to the
normalization process.
"It is up to them to decide how they want to move with the ratification
process," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters
in Ankara on Thursday. "I have expressed our loyalty to the protocols
on numerous occasions. We will press ahead with the process on the
principle that treaties are binding."
The prime minister’s remarks came as Armenia’s ruling coalition
announced earlier Thursday that it was halting ratification of the
peace accord on account of Turkey’s refusal to ratify the text without
preconditions and in a reasonable timeframe.
Soon after the coalition parties’ statement, Armenian President Serge
Sargsyan confirmed his country’s freezing of the ratification of the
protocols with neighboring Turkey.
Following the Armenian statement, Davutoglu called Erdogan to inform
him about the developments. In Ankara, Erdogan said his country’s
stance concerning the ratification of the protocols is clear. "How
the ratification process could move forward and how a comprehensive
peace objective can be achieved in the region has been explained to
the parties concerned."