David Shahnazaryan: Armenia, Azerbaijan swap places

March 24, 2010 - 15:03 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A new situation emerged in Karabakh the process lately, according to David Shahnazaryan, representatives of the Armenian National Congress.

"It's rather strange that the Armenian authorities somehow uphold other negotiation formats while Azerbaijan behaves quite the opposite way. Armenia and Azerbaijan seem to have swapped places. Baku is not in a hurry to announce that Yerevan rejected revised Madrid Principles," Mr. Shahnazaryan told reporters on Wednesday.

At that, he emphasized that the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict depends on Russia and the United States.

Commenting on the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement, he said it's a process where can't be winners, losses are inevitable and termination impossible.

Dwelling on Turkish Prime Minister's recent statement on deportation of 100 thousand illegal Armenian migrants, Mr. Shahnazaryan said it was a well-thought-out move aimed to prevent Armenia from ratifying the protocols on normalization of relations first.

Asked about international political situation he said Armenia is in crisis.

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.