Turkish FM reiterates conditions for rapprochement with Armenia

February 20, 2015 - 17:42 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Foreign Minister reiterated conditions Ankara set forth for normalization of ties with Armenia.

As Mevlut Cavusoglu stated in an interview with Sabah, the Karabakh conflict settlement is essential to establish peace in the South Caucasus.

"To normalize ties with Ankara, Yerevan must cede Karabakh territories," he said, accusing Armenia of taking no steps towards solving the Karabakh issue.

President Serzh Sargsyan addressed a letter to the National Assembly speaker Galust Sahakyan on Feb 16 requesting to recall Armenian-Turkish protocols from the parliament's agenda, presidential press service reports.

The presidential letter reads, "at the outset of the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish ties without preconditions, we were in full realization of all possible scenarios. We were similarly ready for comprehensive rapprochement through ratification of the protocols and their failure. We had nothing to conceal, as it would become clear to the international community which party was guilty of missing the chance to open the last closed border in Europe."

As the president further noted, ever since the Protocols were signed, Armenia was consistent in its efforts to implement the document.

In his letter, the Armenian leader also criticized the Turkish leadership over absence of political will, distortion of the essence of the protocols and attempts to lay down conditions, as well as intensified policy of denialism ahead of the Genocide centennial.

“I repeatedly stated that we don’t have unlimited time for ratification of protocols. I regret that the message was left unheard by the Turkish leadership,” Sargsyan concluded.

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.