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 YEREVAN
(Combined Sources)–The internationally backed efforts to
normalize relations between Armenia and Turkey could end in
failure soon, Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said on Friday,
accusing Ankara of obstructing the process with preconditions
and “artificial” claims.
“If Turkey is not ready to ratify the
[Turkish-Armenian] protocols, if it continues, as it has until
now, to speak in the language of preconditions, make some
linkages and obstruct progress in this process, then of course I
don’t exclude it,” Nalbandian told a news conference.
But he added: “Nobody can say for certain
that a particular process will end in one or another way.
Generally speaking, I don’t like making that kind of
predictions.”
Turkish leaders said this week that Armenia
itself set preconditions for normalizing bilateral relations
with an interpretation of the protocols that was made by its
Constitutional Court this month. They specifically referred to
the court’s view that the protocols can have no legal
implications for the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process or stop
Yerevan from seeking greater international recognition of the
Armenian genocide. Ankara claims this runs counter to the letter
and spirit of the documents signed in October.
Nalbandian dismissed the Turkish claims as
“nonsense.” “To say that Armenia is dragging out the
ratification process is also nonsense,” he said. “We hope that
the Turks will not try to cite artificial excuses for not
ratifying these protocols.” The Armenian side remains committed
to their speedy and unconditional implementation, he added.
“Guided by the initiative of the President of
the Republic of Armenia to establish relations with Turkey
without preconditions, intensive talks were held with the
Turkish side and protocols on normalization of the
Armenian-Turkish relations were signed in Zurich on October10,”
Nalbandian said.
Nalbandian passed a similar message to
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in a phone conversation
on Wednesday. Davutoglu described as “totally baseless” his
claims that Ankara has thwarted any progress towards the
protocols’ endorsement by the Turkish parliament.
Speaking at a news conference in Ankara on
Friday, Davutoglu insisted that the Armenian court ruling “is
against the letter and spirit of the protocols.” “Armenian
Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian told me in a telephone
conversation that the ruling did not affect previously agreed
points in the protocols. But we expect a clearer picture,
explanation over this,” he said, according to AFP news agency.
President Serzh Sarkisian said last month
that Armenia will walk away from the deal if the Turks fail to
validate it “within a reasonable timeframe.” But neither he, nor
other Armenian officials have set more precise deadlines for
Turkish ratification yet.
In Nalbandian’s words, Yerevan is confident
that the international community would blame Turkey, rather than
Armenia, for the possible collapse of the process.
“Today Armenia appears to the world as a
predictable and reliable partner, whose approaches are
comprehended and appreciated,” Nalbandian said, adding that key
international players and centers of power respect Armenia for
its “proven reliability on both regional and international
levels.”
To bolster his position, Nablandian said his
Ministry took big steps in 2009 to deepen and reinforce
Armenia’s cooperation with partner countries. “Armenia followed
its policy of European integration both in bilateral format and
within the framework of European structures. Our country jointed
the EU Eastern Partnership Program,” Nalbandian said.
“Armenia also played an active role in the
Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation Organization and the Eurasian Economic Community,”
he said. “Our country was consistent in implementing the
Individual Partnership Action Plan with NATO and expanded its
participation in international peacekeeping activity.”
“A number of reciprocal visits, political
consultations, meetings and other events took place last year;
about 100 international agreements were concluded. The Armenian
President made 22 foreign visits and the presidents of eight
countries visited Armenia,” he added.
According to the Foreign Minister, the
diplomatic activism of his ministry has “created favorable
conditions for the development of the republic, presented
Armenia’s positions on the international arena, raised the
effectiveness of the defense of rights of the Republic and its
citizens abroad, and deepened Armenia’s involvement in
international organizations and processes.”
Nalbandian said he believed that these steps
have gained greater support for Armenia’s position in the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “For the first time, the right of
peoples to self-determination was mentioned in the statement of
the OSCE Ministerial as an indispensable principle of
settlement, a number of international documents stressed the
importance of the principle of non-use of force or threat of
force,” he said.
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