ANKARA ‘COMMITTED TO SPIRIT OF ARMENIAN DEAL

Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Feb 17 2015

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic.

Ankara will remain committed to protocols signed between Turkey and
Armenia aiming to normalize bilateral relations, Turkish Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgic has said, after Yerevan recently
decided to withdraw the 2008 protocols from the Armenian Parliament.

Bilgic told reporters yesterday that Yerevan has decided to withdraw
the Protocol on Establishing of Diplomatic Relations and the Protocol
on Developing Relations in order “to create a reason to accuse Turkey”
ahead of the 100th anniversary of the massacres of Ottoman Armenians,
which Armenia recognizes as genocide.

“Turkey disagrees with the attitude taken by the Armenian side,”
he said, describing Yerevan’s step as “wrong and unfortunate.”

The move displays Armenia’s “incoherent and insincere” stance,
Bilgic stated, adding that “Turkey will remain loyal to regional
normalization process which is the fundemental goal of the protocols.”

On Feb. 16, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that he has
asked the country’s parliamentary speaker to withdraw his signature
from a groundbreaking 2009 agreement with Turkey meant to restore
ties between the two nations.

Sargsyan said in a statement that Armenia would not ratify the
agreement because of the “preconditions” that Turkey is putting in
place before it ratifies its side of the deal.

The agreement aims to restore diplomatic ties between the countries
as well as reopen the common border, which has been closed since 1993.

February/17/2015