Most important political events for Armenia in 2010

December 29, 2010 - 14:09 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The year of 2010 was intense for Armenia both in domestic and foreign policy. The year marked the process of ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols, Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement talks as well as government reshuffle. PanARMENIAN.Net briefs on the most dramatic events of the outgoing year.

On January 12, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Armenia found the protocols on normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey conformable with the RA Organic Law. However, later official Ankara said that the ruling contains preconditions which “conflict with the letter of the protocols.” On April 22, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan suspended the process of ratification of the protocols in the Armenian National Assembly. Signature has not been recalled yet.

On March 4, with a vote 23-22, the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs adopted the Armenian Genocide resolution (H.Res.252).

On March 11, Sweden’s parliament adopted a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide with 131 votes for and 130 against.

On July 4, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Armenia on a formal visit. The key issues on the agenda were: development of bilateral relations, normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations. She also attended the Armenian Genocide Memorial, honoring the memory of the innocent victims.

On July 19, negotiations of signature of Association Agreement with the European Union were launched.

On August 19, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev arrived in Armenia on a state visit. As a part of the visit, a protocol was signed to extend deployment of the Russian military base in Armenia in Gyumri till 2044.

On December 1-2, during the OSCE Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Heads of Delegation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries (the President of the Russian Federation Dmitri Medvedev, the Prime Minister of France Francois Fillon, and the Secretary of State of the United States Hillary Rodham Clinton), the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, and the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan agreed that the time has come for more decisive efforts to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

On December 9, the bill on recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was not adopted by the Armenian parliament over lack of quorum. The coalition forces refrained from voting. As a result, 13 parliamentarians took part in the voting which was declared invalid due to the lack of quorum.