Turkey will once return to normalization process with Armenia-ruling MP says

May 02, 2011 | 13:36

YEREVAN. – Though the Armenia-Turkey normalization process is frozen at the moment, time will come and Turkey will return to the process, MP from Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) Karen Avagyan told a press conference on Monday.

According to him, Armenia did its utmost and is waiting for Turkey’s moves. “the Armenia-Turkey reconciliation process is suspended at the moment. however, Turks will return to the process one day willingly or unwillingly. they cannot restrain the international community from sharps criticisms leveled at Turkey,” he noted.

He also pointed out the fact that if Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan used to speak about Armenia-Turkey rapprochement with preconditions between the lines, he does it overtly now.

In his turn, expert in Turkic studies Ruben Melkonyan stressed Turkey acquired a status of an unreliable partner before the international community, following the Armenian-Turkish process. “the failed process is of no benefit to Turkey. it rather reminds of Turkey’s false “zero problems with neighbors” policy,” he emphasized.

On October 10, 2009, in Zurich, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia and Turkey signed the “Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations” and “Protocol for the development of bilateral relations”, which needed to be ratified by the parliaments of the two countries. however, it did not happen due to Ankara’s non-constructive position.

However, on December 7, 2009, Turkey linked Armenian-Turkish reconciliation to settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. during his meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan stated that Ankara would not ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols as long as the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict remained unsettled. on April 22, 2010, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree suspending the ratification process.

News from Armenia – NEWS.am