ARMENIA SAYS BALL IN TURKEY’S COURT TO IMPROVE TIES

Today’s Zaman
April 28 2010
Turkey

Armenia is ready to continue improving ties with neighboring Turkey if
Ankara respects the agreements signed by the two countries, Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has said.

"We are ready to move forward if Turkey turns into our partner again
ready to advance without preconditions, improve relations and fulfill
the agreements," the minister noted. "It is Turkey that decides whether
we will be new or old partners," Nalbandian was quoted as telling
Armenian state television by Russian Itar-Tass news agency on Tuesday.

Turkey and Armenia signed two protocols to normalize relations in
October, but the process is stalled amid mutual accusations that each
side is trying to rewrite the documents to better suit their national
interests. Armenia announced last week that it froze the process of
ratification of the two protocols, complaining that Turkey has linked
the process of normalization to Armenia’s Nagorno-Karabakh dispute
with Azerbaijan.

Nalbandian said further negotiations with Turkey on the normalization
of ties were unnecessary at this stage. "Armenia will never participate
in the process for the sake of the process and in the negotiations
for the sake of negotiations," he said. "We launched this process,
entered into the negotiations, initialed and then signed the protocols,
which are pending ratification."

"If Turkey again makes statements worthy of trust, undertakes deeds
worthy of trust, there will be adequate steps on our side," the
Armenian foreign minister also said. Catherine Ashton, the European
Union’s foreign and security policy chief, has expressed concern over
Armenia’s decision to suspend the ratification process, noting that
normalization of Turkish-Armenian ties will contribute to security
and stability in the Caucasus.

In a statement released on Monday, Ashton said she is pleased to note
that Armenia remains committed to pursue the process of normalization
of Armenian-Turkish relations but at the same time expressed concern
about the loss of momentum in this process and repeated the EU’s
call for both countries to continue the process of normalization
without preconditions.