US interested in soonest ratification of Armenia-Turkey Protocols

March 11, 2010 - 16:00 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - US, as Armenia-Turkey rapprochement “godfather”, is interested in soonest ratification of protocols, according to Heritage parliamentary group leader Stepan Safaryan.

As Safaryan told a news conference in Yerevan, following US House Foreign Affairs Committee’s passage of H. Res. 252, Armenia gave US to understand that rapprochement process will be continued only after final recognition of Armenian Genocide. “Turkey is waiting for US to guarantee non-inclusion of resolution on Congress agenda.”

As Safaryan noted, there are 3 ways out of the situation: US satisfies either Armenia’s expectations, or those of Turkey. A compromise solution is also possible: in exchange for Washington’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide, priority will be given to territorial integrity principle in Karabakh issue. “I believe, the matter will eventually be resolved through compromise,” he noted.

Heritage parliamentary faction leader emphasized the possibility of US exerting pressure in Karabakh settlement issue, to bring Armenia to ratify protocols. As the same time he noted that “Armenia’s ratifying Protocols will give US a chance to refuse from recognizing the Genocide in future”.

Dwelling on recent meeting between ex Presidents Robert Kocharyan and Jacques Chirac, Safaryan emphasized that hard as official circles try to conceal the fact, Kocharyan aspires to return to power. Heritage parliamentary group leader expressed doubts over the possibility, as neither international community nor Armenian society have forgotten the fact of his deceiving everyone for 10 years or the price at which we transferred power in 2008.

On March 4, 2010, with a vote of 23 to 22, the House Foreign Relations Committee successfully passed House Resolution 252 (H. Res. 252) pushing the Resolution in Congress for a final vote yet to be scheduled.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.

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.