Serzh Sargsyan declares Armenian-Turkish protocols void and null
01.03.2018,
17:53
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has declared today the Armenian-Turkish protocols void and null, press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan wrote on his page on Twitter citing a statement made by the press secretary of the head of state.
YEREVAN, March 1. /ARKA/. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has declared today the Armenian-Turkish protocols void and null, press secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Tigran Balayan wrote on his page on Twitter citing a statement made by the press secretary of the head of state.
The decision was made following a meeting of the National Security Council of Armenia today.
In 2009, on October 10, Armenia and Turkey signed "Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations" and the "Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations" in Zurich which were to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
However, on 22 April 2010, the president of Armenia signed a decree suspending the ratification of the protocols, stating that Turkey was not ready to continue the process, since it became known that the protocols had been automatically removed from the Turkish parliament’s agenda.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September 2017 Serzh Sargsyan stated that Armenia never put the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a precondition for regulating relations with Ankara. Sargsyan said also that in the absence of positive progress on the part of Turkey, Armenia would declare them null and void in 2018 spring.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations; the border between the two countries was closed in 1993 by Ankara in solidarity with Azerbaijan. Relations between Armenia and Turkey remain tense because of Ankara’s biased stance on Karabakh problem and its painful reaction to Armenia’s efforts to obtain worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide, committed by the Ottoman Turkey during World War I. -0-
The decision was made following a meeting of the National Security Council of Armenia today.
In 2009, on October 10, Armenia and Turkey signed "Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations" and the "Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations" in Zurich which were to be ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
However, on 22 April 2010, the president of Armenia signed a decree suspending the ratification of the protocols, stating that Turkey was not ready to continue the process, since it became known that the protocols had been automatically removed from the Turkish parliament’s agenda.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September 2017 Serzh Sargsyan stated that Armenia never put the recognition of the Armenian Genocide as a precondition for regulating relations with Ankara. Sargsyan said also that in the absence of positive progress on the part of Turkey, Armenia would declare them null and void in 2018 spring.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations; the border between the two countries was closed in 1993 by Ankara in solidarity with Azerbaijan. Relations between Armenia and Turkey remain tense because of Ankara’s biased stance on Karabakh problem and its painful reaction to Armenia’s efforts to obtain worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide, committed by the Ottoman Turkey during World War I. -0-
