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news.am, Armenia
June 16 2011
Closed borders in 21st century nonsense-Armenia's Prime Minister
June 16, 2011 | 11:03
Armenia's position on rapprochement with Turkey has remained unchanged
during the recent 20 years. Yerevan is ready to establish diplomatic
relations with Turkey without preconditions, Armenia's Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan stated in an interview with Russian service of BBC. He
commented on the question whether Turkey changed its attitude towards
Yerevan following June 12 parliamentary elections.
`The agreements with the Turkish side have been reached following
basic understanding of the situation. We will be happy if our Turkish
counterparts come to the conclusion that closed borders in the 21st
century are nonsense,' Sargsyan emphasized.
Tigran Sargsyan expressed hope Turkey will be adhered to the protocols
signed in 2009, for the two countries to normalize relations.
The Armenian-Turkish border was closed in 1993. Ankara broke off ties
with the Armenian side in solidarity with Azerbaijan.
October 10, 2009, in Zurich, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia
and Turkey signed the `Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic
Relations' and `Protocol for the development of bilateral relations',
which needed to be ratified by the parliaments of the two countries.
However, this did not happen.
The signing ceremony was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and France Bernard
Kouchner, as well as Secretary General of the Council of the European
Union Javier Solana. The signing ceremony was at the center of the
world's attention, broadcast on 70 TV channels.
However, on December 7, 2009, Turkey linked the Armenian-Turkish
process to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. During a meeting with U.S.
President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that
Ankara would not ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols without
resolution of the Karabakh conflict. On April 22, 2010, Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree suspending the ratification
process.
From: A. Papazian
June 16 2011
Closed borders in 21st century nonsense-Armenia's Prime Minister
June 16, 2011 | 11:03
Armenia's position on rapprochement with Turkey has remained unchanged
during the recent 20 years. Yerevan is ready to establish diplomatic
relations with Turkey without preconditions, Armenia's Prime Minister
Tigran Sargsyan stated in an interview with Russian service of BBC. He
commented on the question whether Turkey changed its attitude towards
Yerevan following June 12 parliamentary elections.
`The agreements with the Turkish side have been reached following
basic understanding of the situation. We will be happy if our Turkish
counterparts come to the conclusion that closed borders in the 21st
century are nonsense,' Sargsyan emphasized.
Tigran Sargsyan expressed hope Turkey will be adhered to the protocols
signed in 2009, for the two countries to normalize relations.
The Armenian-Turkish border was closed in 1993. Ankara broke off ties
with the Armenian side in solidarity with Azerbaijan.
October 10, 2009, in Zurich, Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia
and Turkey signed the `Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic
Relations' and `Protocol for the development of bilateral relations',
which needed to be ratified by the parliaments of the two countries.
However, this did not happen.
The signing ceremony was attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and France Bernard
Kouchner, as well as Secretary General of the Council of the European
Union Javier Solana. The signing ceremony was at the center of the
world's attention, broadcast on 70 TV channels.
However, on December 7, 2009, Turkey linked the Armenian-Turkish
process to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. During a meeting with U.S.
President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that
Ankara would not ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols without
resolution of the Karabakh conflict. On April 22, 2010, Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree suspending the ratification
process.
From: A. Papazian