Armenia-Turkey policy discussions to be held in Yerevan

March 24, 2010 - 13:30 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF) together with Istanbul-based Global Political Trends Center (GPoT) and with funding from USAID will hold Armenia-Turkey policy discussions on March 25-26, 2010, EPF Communications Office reported.

The meeting will bring together a number of distinguished opinion makers and media professionals from Turkey and Armenia. The list of participants will include retired Armenian and Turkish diplomats and high-level government officials; as well as renowned Armenian and Turkish media professionals.

The meeting is part of the USAID-funded "Days Two and Three in Armenia-Turkey Rapprochement" project, which seeks to build ties and to develop mutual understanding among Armenian and Turkish peer groups in the non-government, media and business sectors. The discussions will not focus on Armenian-Turkish protocols but rather elaborate on the entire range of recent Armenian-Turkish developments. A special emphasis will be made on what should be done within the Track Two Diplomacy efforts regarding the current diplomatic impasse in the Armenia-Turkey relations.

Eurasia Partnership Foundation has been implementing Armenia-Turkey initiatives since 2005 to promote cross-border partnerships between Armenian and Turkish peer groups, helping them to contribute strategically to state efforts to build relations between the two countries.

The Armenian-Turkish Protocols

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.

Commenting on the CC ruling, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that “it contains preconditions and restrictive provisions which impair the letter and spirit of the Protocols.” ”The decision undermines the very reason for negotiating these Protocols as well as their fundamental objective. This approach cannot be accepted on our part. Turkey, in line with its accustomed allegiance to its international commitments, maintains its adherence to the primary provisions of these Protocols. We expect the same allegiance from the Armenian government,” the Ministry said.