Armenia should set specific timeframes to TurkeyJanuary 21, 2010 - 19:33 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Neither Moscow nor Washington could openly declare that they link Armenian-Turkish rapprochement with Karabakh peace process, Neo-Conservative Movement leader Edward Abrahamyan finds."Unfortunately, words and deeds often differ in politics," he told PanARMENIAN.Net in an interview. "After the meeting with Russian Premier in Ankara, Erdogan announced that the two processes are 'implicitly' interrelated. And we all realize what he meant by that," the expert said. "To avoid tricks, it would be advisable for Armenian authorities to set Protocol ratification timeframes to Turkey before the 95th anniversary of Genocide," he stressed. 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. The Arsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) Republic (NKR) is a de facto independent republic located in the South Caucasus, bordering by Azerbaijan to the north and east, Iran to the south, and Armenia to the west. After the Soviet Union established control over the area, in 1923 it formed the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) within the Azerbaijan SSR. In the final years of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan launched an ethnic cleansing which resulted in the Karabakh War that was fought from 1991 to 1994. Since the ceasefire in 1994, most of Nagorno Karabakh and several regions of Azerbaijan around it (the security zone) remain under the control of Nagorno Karabakh defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan have since been holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group. Top stories President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Achieving stable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan remains a priority of the OSCE, said Ian Borg. The Cabinet of Ministers decided on Thursday, November 9 to allocated AMD 120 million to arrange the gathering. Michael Roth believes sanctions must be put on the table after Baku‘s ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Partner news | Lemkin Institute petition seeks release of Armenians in Azerbaijan The Lemkin Institute is deeply concerned about the continued illegal detention of political prisoners from Karabakh in Azerbaijan. Armenian Catholicos calls for national unity against threats Karekin II issued a message on Republic Day marking the anniversary of the First Armenian Republic. Opposition leader, supporters spend night at Sardarapat memorial Police made nearly 300 arrests the day before as Galstanyan and his supporters continued to demonstrate in Yerevan. Armenia designates flood-hit communities as disaster areas The emergency situation was created by floods caused by heavy rains in Armenia’s north on May 25-26. |