Erdogan: we are loyal to what we have signed in Zurich

April 15, 2010 - 17:59 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the border with Armenia “will remain closed unless a settlement is reached in the Karabakh conflict.”

Nevertheless, he said Turkey stands behind commitments it made in protocols on normalization of relations with Armenia signed in October 2009.

"We are loyal to what we have signed in Zurich. But no one has the right to impose their own memories on Turkey," the Anatolian News Agency quoted Erdogan as saying.

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.