Expert: Armenian and Turkish authorities see transparency required in normalization of relations
YEREVAN, September 1. /ARKA/. Armenian and Turkish authorities understand that the normalization of the relations should be transparent, head of analytical center for globalization and regional cooperation Stepan Grigoryan said.
Even the best document cannot be implemented if the society does not agree to it, Grigoryan said in Novosti international press center Tuesday.
Monday evening the foreign ministries of Armenia and Turkey and the Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs made a statement that an agreement was reached to start internal political consultations about two protocols – the protocol about establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries and the protocol about developing bilateral relations. The consultations are expected to be completed within six weeks; the protocols will be submitted for parliament approval then.
The countries take these six weeks to neutralize serious concerns in the societies of the two countries, Grigoryan said.
No diplomatic relations exist between Armenia and Turkey, and the Armenian-Turkish border has been closed since 1993 initiated by official Ankara.
The reason for complicated relations between the countries is particularly Turkey’s pro-Azerbaijani stance on the Karabakh conflict and acute response to the process of international acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire in 1915.
The first warming of the relations occurred on September 6 2008 when Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrived in Yerevan for the first time on the invitation of the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan for watching together the football match between the nationals of Armenia and Turkey in 2010 championship qualifying games. After the match the Turkish leader invited his Armenian counterpart to watch the return match between the two nationals on October 14 2009. N.V. –0--
