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Armenia Again Threatens To Scrap Agreement With Turkey

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  • Armenia Again Threatens To Scrap Agreement With Turkey

    ARMENIA AGAIN THREATENS TO SCRAP AGREEMENT WITH TURKEY

    Asbarez
    http://www.asbarez.com/77843/armenia-again-threat ens-to-scrap-agreement-with-turkey/
    Feb 26th, 2010

    YEREVAN (RFE/RL)-President Serzh Sarkisian made late on Thursday his
    most explicit threat yet to annul Armenia's normalization agreements
    with Turkey in what appeared to be a tense conversation with Turkish
    Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

    The two men spoke in Kiev on the sidelines of the swearing-in of
    Ukraine's newly elected president, Viktor Yanukovich. Davutoglu
    told Turkish journalists there that the "meeting" centered on
    Turkish-Armenian relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

    "We reviewed the Turkish -Armenian normalization relationship in
    its entirety with open hearts today, including our anxieties and
    the obstacles we face," Davutoglu said, according to "Hurriyet
    Daily News." "We spoke about Armenian- Azerbaijan relations and the
    activities of the Minsk Group as related to the Karabakh issue."

    Sarkisian's press office clarified that the two held on talks as
    such, saying that Davutoglu "approached and exchanged views" with
    the Armenian president during a reception hosted by Yanukovich. It
    said Sarkisian told him that the ratification of the Turkish-Armenian
    "protocols" must be completed "within the shortest possible time."

    "Or else, as was stated before, the Republic of Armenia will withdraw
    its signatures from the protocols," the office said in a statement
    circulated on Friday.

    Sarkisian first publicly warned of such possibility in early December.

    He instructed the Armenian government to draft legal amendments
    regulating Yerevan's possible pullout from international treaties. The
    Armenian parliament adopted them in the final reading on Thursday.

    Sarkisian was quoted by his office as also telling Davutoglu that
    Turkey could open its border with Armenia before ratifying the
    protocols. "A country dreaming about a region without borders should
    take the first step and end Armenia's blockade," he said, scoffing
    at Ankara's stated efforts to promote peace and stability in the
    South Caucasus.

    "If Azerbaijani pressure does not allow Turkey's parliament to ratify
    the protocols, then nothing keeps Turkey's executive authority from
    opening, even before the protocol ratification, the border between
    the two states which it itself had closed," he added.

    Sarkisian also ruled out any Turkish involvement in the Karabakh peace
    process. He pointed to Turkey's "unilateral military assistance" to
    Azerbaijan and "biased statements" on Karabakh made by Turkish leaders.

    In a related development, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
    reaffirmed on Thursday Washington's support for the quick and
    unconditional ratification of the protocols. "We are working very
    hard to assist Armenia and Turkey in their efforts and we would like
    to continue to support that effort and not be diverted in any way at
    all," Clinton told U.S. lawmakers.

    "The normalization process, which carries important benefits for both
    sides, should take place without preconditions and within an obvious,
    reasonable timeframe," she said.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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