Constitutional court ruling on protocols is a signal to Ankara that Yerevan ready to continue reconciliation process

YEREVAN, January 15. /ARKA/. A senior member of the governing Republican Party of Armenia said today the ruling of Armenian Constitutional Court that two Turkish-Armenian protocols on establishment of diplomatic relations and normalization of bilateral ties do not run counter to the Constitution, is a signal to Ankara that Yerevan is ready to continue the reconciliation process.

Speaking at a news conference Friday, Eduard Sharmazanov, the secretary of the party’s parliamentary faction, said the Constitutional Court’s ruling is very important in terms of raising the country’s international image showing its readiness to observe its international commitments.

“Now the ball is again on the Turkish side of the field, which has to demonstrate whether it really wants normalization of relations with its neighbor or what it done and said was only an imitation,’ he said.

Sharmazanov said Turkey is facing the problem of preserving its international reputation and by ratifying the two protocols it will show that it is a reliable partner. He blamed Ankara for what he described as ‘artificial dragging of the protocols ratification.’

According to him, some members of the British House of Commons, who have personally recognized the Armenian genocide, are pressing the government to follow their suit. He said the US Congress is very likely to consider an Armenian genocide bill again.

Eduard Sharmazanov said Armenia will never agree to one-sided concessions in this issue. In a reference to state borders, he said Armenia and Turkey, as members of UN and other international organizations, have recognized one another’s borders.

On June 12 the Constitutional Court indicated that the protocols can not have any bearing on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict or inhibit Armenia's pursuit of greater international recognition of the Armenian genocide. -0-