Tigran Sargsyan: Turks were originally responsible for closing the borderDecember 19, 2009 - 16:55 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - "We very much hope the Turkish Parliament will not take a step that would mean a miscarriage of the agreements. If this happens, our parliament would [essentially declare] the protocols to be null and void. We would be back to square one," Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan told the Turkish daily Hu"rriyet in an interview.Touching upon Turkish side's statements on the impossibility of progress without settlement of Karabakh conflict, Armenian premier reiterated Armenia's position on the process being free of preconditions. "Our position has not changed. Judging from Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan's statements, it seems that the Turkish position has shifted, which means that the Turkish Parliament may propose certain preconditions. If Turkey comes up with preconditions, Armenia would be free to do so as well itself," Sargsyan said, emphasizing that the Turks were originally responsible for closing the border. "We are not playing games with Turkey; we are committed to an open and transparent foreign policy and do not make different statements to others. We do not see an alternative to this process," Armenian premier said, adding that if Turkey comes up with preconditions, Armenia will be free to do so as well. . With regard to the ratification of RA-Turkish Protocols, Head of Armenian Government said, "We are closely following this process. If we observe that the Turkish Parliament is not stalling the process, we will make our own conclusions." Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Armenia to participate in key EU meeting for the first time ever National Assembly speaker Alen Simonyan has said that Armenia will for the first time participate in the Conference. U.S. reacts to Russia’s criticism of upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting Matthew Miller has weighed in on Russia’s criticism of an upcoming Armenia-EU-U.S. meeting. Lavrov sees ‘collapse’ of Russia’s ties with Armenia Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has underscored heightened tensions between Russia and Armenia. Russia warns Armenia against “falling into West’s trap” Zakharova maintained, however, that anything that will benefit the people of Armenia can only be welcomed. |