Message of Armenian President reveals Armenia's readiness to implement its commitments

February 9, 2010 - 16:44 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net -
The message of the Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan, proved once again that the initiative in the Armenian-Turkish relations belongs to the Armenian side," Edward Sharmazanov , secretary of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) parliamentary group told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

According Sharmazanov, the message of the Armenian President reveals Armenia's readiness to implement its commitments. "This is a signal for Turkey and the international community. In particular, Serzh Sargsyan noted that the parties should take steps coming out of the spirit of the Armenian-Turkish protocols, or words must conform to doings, " MP said.

He stressed, over the past time the words and doings of the Armenian government in the context of Armenian-Turkish relations have been always consistent to each other, which is cannot be stated about Turkey.

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.

The Republican Party of Armenia

The Republican Party of Armenia is a national conservative political party in Armenia. It was the first political party in independent Armenia to be founded (2 April 1990) and registered (14 May 1991). It is the largest party of the centre-right in Armenia, and claims to have 140,000 members. The party controls most government bodies in Armenia.

At the 2003 parliamentary elections on May 25, the party received 23.5% of the popular vote, winning 31 out of 131 seats. At the last parliamentary elections on May 12, 2007, the party received 33.91% of the popular vote, winning 64 out of 131 seats. The former prime minister, Andranik Markaryan, was the leader of the party. Current President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, is the chairman of HHK board.

The Republican Party's national conservative ideology is based on tsegakron, an early 20th century Armenian nationalist ideology (roughly translated as "nation-religion"). It was formulated by Garegin Njdeh and holds that the Armenian national identity and state should carry religious significance for all ethnic Armenians.