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YEREVAN (Combined
Sources)—After a five-hour closed door meeting about the Amenia-Turkey
protocols between President Serzh Sarkisian and more than 50
political parties Thursday, the Armenian Revolutionary
Federation said its concerns were not put to rest.
“By inviting Turkey’s
President to Armenia, I intended to open a window of the
possibility to normalize relations and to demonstrate that a
people who have suffered Genocide, and the Armenian nation, have
enough courage and the will to be the first to extend a hand,”
said Sarkisian during his opening remarks at the meeting, which
was part of the protocol-mandated public discussion provision.
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian
(L) and Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian (R)
The president acknowledged
his own concerns about the protocols, nevertheless, defending
Armenia’s position vis-à-vis the process.
“I too see risks, I too
have concerns,” Sarkisian said in his opening remarks, and
claimed that by signing the protocols Armenia and the Armenian
nation was not sacrificing their convictions, but rather “we are
paving the way for driving them home.” However, he did not
specify as to how Armenia was going to achieve the latter.
Sarkisian pointed out that
while many had advised him to keep the negotiations
confidential, his and his administration’s approach was to hold
the talks in public, since, he explained, the grievances—“and
yes the enmity”—was between the people and not the upper
echelons of government.
He said that the protocols
were a mere beginning to a long and arduous process of
addressing the various facets of normalization process.
“I consider this process
as providing a minimum platform to begin a dialogue with the
Turks. We have a lot of problems with Turkey, which must be
addressed: economic, political and historical. I think that we
are on the way of solving the problems,” said Sarkisian.
ARF Supreme Council Representative
Armen Rustamian (center) speaks to delagates.
The ARF’s representative
at the meeting, Supreme Council chairman Armen Rustamian,
explained that major changes in the protocol could be made only
during the parliamentary ratification process.
“This means that if there
are really important and serious views the negotiating party
would take them into consideration but it will be left of to
that person’s discretion to address them,” explained Rustamian.
After reporting that
foreign minister Eduard Nalbandian was also in attendance and
his staff was taking notes on the discussion, Rustamian
explained that it was unclear as to which proposal would be
accepted.
“I understood it to mean
that either we are signing whatever there is or we are not. This
is unacceptable to us,” said Rustamian.
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