Ruben Melkonyan: Yerevan and Ankara test each other’s patienceApril 14, 2010 - 17:43 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan said that the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations reminds going round in circles. There is not any progress in ratification of the Armenian-Turkish Protocols, Melkonyan told a press conference in Yerevan. “It is possible that, if the Turkish side continues the imitation policy, Armenia will withdraw its signature under the Protocols. But this issue depends on a political expediency,” he said. According to him, currently a struggle of nerves is taking place between Yerevan and Ankara – the sides test each other’s firmness. The Turkologist noted that, judging from this, it would be incorrect, if Armenia becomes the first to yield its position. “I strongly believe that Turkish politicians will toughen their stance towards ratification of the Protocols after April 24. They will try to force Armenia to commit errors,” Melkonyan said . According to him, the Turkish Prime Minister’s statement about deportation of illegal Armenian immigrants shall be viewed within this context. The expert warned that one should not treat this statement as a threat, since the deportation of 12,000 Greeks in 1964 proves that Ankara may take such a step. Melkonyan added that Ankara will be responsible for failure in the Armenian-Turkish dialogue and its reputation will suffer significantly. 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. 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 | Welcome to CaseKey 2024. Byblos Bank Armenia firmly stands by future innovators Strategic business cases, invaluable experience, innovative approaches and more than 25 events are in store for the participants of CaseKey 2024. Macron honors Charles Aznavour on 100th anniversary French President Emmanuel Macron has paid tribute to the memory of French-Armenian crooner Charles Aznavour. Erdogan’s approval rating falls below 40 percent: survey A total of 53.4 percent of respondents said they disapprove of the performance of Erdoğan. Blinken says U.S. reviewing a number of aid requests from Armenia He said the U.S. is reviewing the requests to determine what more it can do to increase its assistance to Armenia. |