Armenia-Turkey relations chilling

April 16, 2010 - 11:26 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The meeting between Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan proved ineffective, a Russian expert said.

“There are several reasons for it: the Armenian Genocide resolution adopted by the U.S. House panel, Erdogan’s threat to deport illegal Armenian migrants and Turkey’s support to Azerbaijan in Karabakh issue,” Alexander Sotnichenko, senior analyst at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Middle East Studies, told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

The Turkish parliament is unlikely to ratify the protocols unless the RA Constitutional Court amends the text of its ruling, according to him.

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.