Tweet
PETITION TO OPEN TURKISH-ARMENIAN BORDER LIKELY TO FAIL: ORIENTAL STUDIES INSTITUTE DIRECTOR
YEREVAN, January 15. /ARKA/. Ruben Safrastyan, the director of
Armenian Institute of Oriental Studies, said Tuesday the petition to
call upon Turkey to open the borders with Armenia at least for the
Syrian refugees is pretty unlikely to be successful.
The activists petitioned Obama administration on the White House
website to call the government of Turkey to open its border with
Armenia for refugees from Syria. As of January 10, only 500 people
signed the petition.
"Of course, I welcome any initiative which is targeted at supporting
our Syrian compatriots. As to this particular initiative, I can say
just 5 hundred people signed it whereas 25,000 signatures are required
to be considered by the U.S. President," Safrastyan said.
Moreover, the U.S. President will not even review this issue to avoid
disputes with Turkey. And even if we presuppose the U.S. can make
some pressure, Turkey will not fulfill the requirements.
"As a whole, such initiatives should be started after consulting with
the Republic of Armenia. Afterwards the State itself should have been
submitted the initiative," the expert said.
Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations. The border between
the two countries was closed in 1993 at Ankara's initiative. Relations
between Armenia and Turkey remain tense because of Ankara's biased
stance on Karabakh problem and its painful reaction to Armenia's
efforts to obtain worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations started in
2008 by the initiative of the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. On
October 10, 2009 Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Turkey signed
two protocols in Zurich "On the regulation of diplomatic relations"
and "On the development of mutual relations" which should have been
ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
But on April 22, 2010 Sargsyan signed a decree on the termination of
the process of ratification of Armenian-Turkish protocols announcing
that Turkey is not ready to continue the launched process.
Ratification process of documents by Turkish Parliament is frozen.
YEREVAN, January 15. /ARKA/. Ruben Safrastyan, the director of
Armenian Institute of Oriental Studies, said Tuesday the petition to
call upon Turkey to open the borders with Armenia at least for the
Syrian refugees is pretty unlikely to be successful.
The activists petitioned Obama administration on the White House
website to call the government of Turkey to open its border with
Armenia for refugees from Syria. As of January 10, only 500 people
signed the petition.
"Of course, I welcome any initiative which is targeted at supporting
our Syrian compatriots. As to this particular initiative, I can say
just 5 hundred people signed it whereas 25,000 signatures are required
to be considered by the U.S. President," Safrastyan said.
Moreover, the U.S. President will not even review this issue to avoid
disputes with Turkey. And even if we presuppose the U.S. can make
some pressure, Turkey will not fulfill the requirements.
"As a whole, such initiatives should be started after consulting with
the Republic of Armenia. Afterwards the State itself should have been
submitted the initiative," the expert said.
Armenia and Turkey have no diplomatic relations. The border between
the two countries was closed in 1993 at Ankara's initiative. Relations
between Armenia and Turkey remain tense because of Ankara's biased
stance on Karabakh problem and its painful reaction to Armenia's
efforts to obtain worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
Process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations started in
2008 by the initiative of the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. On
October 10, 2009 Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Turkey signed
two protocols in Zurich "On the regulation of diplomatic relations"
and "On the development of mutual relations" which should have been
ratified by the parliaments of both countries.
But on April 22, 2010 Sargsyan signed a decree on the termination of
the process of ratification of Armenian-Turkish protocols announcing
that Turkey is not ready to continue the launched process.
Ratification process of documents by Turkish Parliament is frozen.