US ambassador disappointed with lack of progress in Armenia-Turkey reconciliation
19.12.2014,
15:17
The lack of progress in Armenia-Turkey reconciliation is disappointing, said US ambassador to Armenia John Heffern who is completing his mission in the country, Novosti-Armenia reported.
YEREVAN, December 19. /ARKA/. The lack of progress in Armenia-Turkey reconciliation is disappointing, said US ambassador to Armenia John Heffern who is completing his mission in the country, Novosti-Armenia reported.
He said during his tenure in Armenia his biggest disappointment was about the Armenian-Turkish protocols.
The envoy said they expected that the protocols would be ratified resulting in the opening of the border and establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. But the lack of progress is disappointing, he said.
At the same time, the ambassador said, the US will continue support Yerevan-Ankara reconciliation.
There are currently no diplomatic relations established between Turkey and Armenia: official Ankara closed the border in 1993. The uneasy relationship between the countries is caused particularly by Ankara’s support to Azerbaijan on Karabakh problem and Turkey’s overreaction to international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide in Ottoman Empire.
Some reconciliation in the relations started in autumn 2008 initiated by Armenia’s president Serzh Sargsyan. Foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey signed protocols about establishing diplomatic relations in Zurich on October 10 2009 to be ratified by the parliaments. On April 22 2010 Armenia’s president Sargsyan suspended the ratification process saying Turkey was not ready to continue the process. Ratification of the protocols has been frozen. –0—
