PROTOCOLS RATIFICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION- NECESSARY CONDITION TO UNLEASH ARMENIA’S POTENTIAL
/PanARMENIAN.Net/
17.02.2010 17:21 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ If Turkey-Armenia rapprochement, initiated by
Armenia, supported by the most influential actors of the international
arena, namely Russia, USA and EU that led to the signature of bilateral
protocols on 10 October 2009 were to succeed, it would deeply transform
and enhance the strategic posture of both Armenia and Turkey. Moreover,
its spill-over effect would have the potential to firmly stabilize the
region and turn it into a vibrant pole of global economy, Dr. Sargis
Ghazaryan , Senior Research Fellow at European Friends of Armenia
organization told PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.
"In the recent history of Armenia, strategically important decisions
over political and macro-economic planning and vision of Armenia’s very
identity have all been shaped by its hostile geopolitical environment
in terms of armed conflicts, galloping race of arms, war rhetoric,
competition for hegemony, closed borders, illegal and unilateral
embargoes and lack viable mechanisms for regional cooperation. While
the degree of regional segmentation is high in the region, the degree
of security is alarmingly low.
The ratification of the protocols and full implementation of their
provisions are a necessary condition to overcome geography and to
unleash the real potential of Armenia and eventually, of the South
Caucasus. The success of such a process can put an end to nationalism
and populism and boost diversity, multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism.
I think that we are witnessing the genesis of one of the most
unprecedented and epochal transformations that the South Caucasus
and the wider geopolitical macro-region have undergone in the last
century. Armenia is contributing, in good faith, to the transformation
into reality of such a process that only a few years ago political
analysts and commentators would call utopia.
It’s up to the Turkish leadership, now, to prove its commitment to
this process, without using preconditions and pretexts to derail it.
After all, it’s about the very credibility of Turkey as a member
of the International Community and a candidate to EU membership,"
Sargis Ghazaryan stated.
The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.
On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.