Russia says ‘did everything’ for normalization of Turkey-Armenia ties

PanARMENIAN.Net - Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, during a weekly briefing on Wednesday, March 7, provided Moscow’s stance on the cancellation of the Armenian-Turkish protocols.

According to Zakharova, Russia has always acted in favor of the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations.

"We gave a direct assessment of this treaty since the Russian delegation, as you remember, was in Zurich and took an active part [in the process],” Zakharova said.

“We proceed from the importance of normalizing relations between these countries - in the interests of these two countries. For our part, we have always done everything to achieve this goal.”

The Zurich Protocols were signed on October 10, 2009 by Armenian and then-Turkish foreign ministers, Edward Nalbandian and Ahmet Davutoğlu, and were meant to help start the process of normalizing relations between the two countries.

Due to lack of involvement and any activity from the Turkish side, Armenia ditched the protocols on March 1, according to an earlier pledge given by president Serzh Sargsyan at the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly.