Political week in Armenia began with a four-day parliamentary sitting. “Turkish authorities, signing a document and making statements contradicting the latter, can’t be taken seriously,” NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan told a news conference in Yerevan. According to him, such actions show that Turkish authorities disrespect both themselves and the agreements made. “As to ratification of the Protocols, let me repeat that we discussed the issue with our coalition partners and stick to the position already announced: Armenian parliament will take no further steps until Turkey ratifies the Protocols,” Abrahamyan emphasized.

Last week, the internal political life in Armenia has been very active. On March 1, Monday, the Armenian National Congress (ANC) coordinator Levon Zurabyan addressing a rally in Yerevan on behalf of ANC voiced six steps to get out of the ‘March crisis’. According to Levon Zurabyan , those steps should be implemented before the next meeting of the PACE Monitoring Committee. "First of all, it is necessary to release all political prisoners, the second, to recover until April an independent body investigating killings on March 1 and 2. Third, to review the law on holding rallies and marches in April and re-shape it. The fourth, to open the A1 + TV station by May, the fifth, to reform the Armenia’s electoral code by late May and the seventh – to hold early parliamentary and presidential elections between June and September, " Levon Zurabyan said. The Congress will present these issues to the Council of Europe representatives on March 16 in Armenia.

Monday, February 22, Armenian Parliament postponed discussion of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols. The formal reason for postponement was the request of Chairman of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations of the National Assembly Armen Rustamyan, who claimed the commission had not yet prepared a conclusion on the Protocols.

The previous week began with news conferences of various political forces of Armenia. As always, most active were representatives of the Republican Party of Armenia, the Heritage Party, and the ARF Dashnaktsutyun. Got into political life also the Armenian National Congress, which until then, preferred to work in the office.

Last week was marked by discussion and comments on the Armenian President’s message to his Turkish counterpart, and Serzh Sargsyan’s speech in the British Royal Institute of International Affairs Chatham House. This week, the President of Armenia also submitted to the Parliament the Armenian-Turkish Protocols.

The internal political life of Armenia acquired its former course, and the past week was marked by the visits of a number of distinguished guests from neighbouring countries. Yerevan hosted Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Prime Minister of Georgia Nikoloz Gilauri and Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov. The week was also devoted to various estimates by political forces and experts concerning the trilateral meeting between the Presidents of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia in Sochi.

As expected, after a 10-day New Year holiday the first working week was politically eventful. The main event was the assembly of the Constitutional Court of Armenia, which was to issue a verdict on the Armenian-Turkish Protocols. More acute was Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's unexpected visit to Yerevan.

The whole week, major political forces of Armenia have been summing up their activity in 2009. Another important event in the passing week was the statement of the PACE Monitoring Committee co-rapporteurs on the conclusions of the ad-hoc parliamentary commission studying the events of March 1, 2008. Among the significant events of the week was also the RA National Assembly Chairman's statement on the timing of ratification of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols by the Parliament.

Major events of the past week were the visit of the NKR parliamentary delegation to Armenia, the arrival of Turkish journalists and the inner-party conflicts in the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party of Armenia. As usual several sharp statements were made by ARF Dashnaktsutyun. A number of political scientists assessed the current state of Armenian-Turkish relations. There was also the anticipated reaction from the Republican Party of Armenia in relation to its party members - the RA National Assembly MPs, who had spoken in support of Sasun Mikaelyan.

The week in Armenia started with the commemoration of the victims of Spitak earthquake, which had claimed more than 25 thousand lives back in 1988. In connection with the 21st anniversary of the earthquake, top executives of the country visited the disaster area. However, in the political sense, all the attention of both the political establishment and the Armenian community was focused on the forthcoming meeting between the U.S. President Barack Obama and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan.