President: Armenia to take adequate steps in case Turkey delays ratification

YEREVAN, November 30. / ARKA /. Armenia will take the appropriate steps in case of delaying the ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocol by Turkey, President of Armenia, Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan said on Saturday, speaking at the congress of the Republican Party. 

According to the President, today, when the Armenian-Turkish protocols have been already signed we can say with great confidence that although the parties are still in the beginning of the process and protocols must still be ratified and fully implemented, unequivocally, that managed to "break the ice" and make substantial progress in relations with Turkey. 

"It certainly will facilitate political and economic development of our two countries, as well as regional cooperation, strengthening stability and peace in the region," Sargsyan said. 

He noted that currently the protocols are in the process of ratification by the parliaments. 

"It's a process which should reflect the seriousness of the positions of the parties, the credibility of their word and sense of responsibility as a mirror. Armenia's respects the international obligations and has the dignity in their words, I hope that Turkey will also be guided by such principles," the president said. 

The head of the state noted that in these respects, the principle of the reasonable time frame should be taking place, and if Turkey delays the ratification process, Armenia will take appropriate steps followed by the international law without interruptions.

"At the same time, Armenia is ready to effectively continue the process. I have already appealed to the Constitutional Court to discuss the relevant protocols of the Constitution of Armenia," Sargsyan said. 

The foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey, Edward Nalbandyan and Akhmed Davutoglu signed the protocol on establishing diplomatic relations and the protocol for the development of bilateral relations on October 10 in Zurich.
After the signing, the documents must be approved by the parliaments of both countries. 

Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic ties since Armenia became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. 
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its ally, Azerbaijan, which had a dispute with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the ethnic Armenian enclave of Azerbaijan. 

There are several sensitive issues complicating the establishment of normal relations between the two countries, particularly, Ankara’s blatant support of Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict resolution process and Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge the mass killings of Armenians in the last years of the Ottoman Empire as genocide.

The thaw in the strained relations began in 2008 September after Turkish president Abdullah Gul arrived in Armenia, at his counterpart’s invitation, to watch together with Serzh Sargsyan the 2010 World Cup qualifying football game between the two countries’ national teams.

During that visit the two presidents discussed prospects for engaging in dialogue and normalization of relations.  –0-