Breaking: Sarkisian Withdraws Protocols from Parliament

YEREVAN (A.W.)—Armenian President Serge Sarkisian has asked to withdraw the Turkey-Armenia protocols from the National Assembly. Sarkisian sent a letter to the Chairman of the National Assembly Galust Sahakyan, informing him about his decision to withdraw the protocols from the National Assembly of Armenia, reported Armenpress.

On April 23, 2009, an agreement of “mutual understanding,” defined as a “roadmap,” had been agreed upon by Armenia and Turkey assuring the world that mutually beneficial relations between them were forthcoming.

In the days leading to the signing of the proposals, Sarkisian made a tour of several Armenian communities around the world, including New York, Paris, Beirut, and Los Angeles, only to be met with scorn and outrage.

Public outcry had virtually no swaying influence on the resolve of the Armenian authorities, and Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian alongside his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davutoglu signed the protocols in Zurich on Oct. 10, 2009.

On April 22, 2010, only seven months after signing the accord, Sarkisian made a statement, in which he made it clear that the political majority in the National Assembly considered statements from the Turkish side unacceptable, “specifically those by Prime Minister [Recepy Tayyip] Erdogan, who has again made the ratification of the Armenia-Turkey protocols by the Turkish parliament directly dependent on a resolution over Nagorno-Karabagh.”

Below is an excerpt from the president’s letter to Sahakyan, as published by the Public Radio of Armenia.

***

Respected Mr. Sahakyan,

When launching the process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations without preconditions, we were fully aware of all possible scenarios of future development. We were ready for both comprehensive normalization of relations through ratification of the protocols and their failure. We had nothing to conceal, as it would become clear to the world which party was guilty of missing the chance to open the last closed border in Europe.

Almost six years have passed from the signing of the Armenian-Turkish protocols. Throughout this period Armenia has consistently backed the realization of the protocols.

However, we cannot but stress the lack of political will on the part of Turkey, the distortion of the letter and spirit of the protocols and the continuous attempts to pose preconditions. Parallel to that, on the threshold of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the policy of denial and revision of history gains new momentum.

I have said on many occasions that time is not inexhaustible. I last did it from the podium of the UN General Assembly in September 2014. It’s a pity that this call failed to reach the Turkish leadership.

Therefore, I have decided to recall the protocols on the “Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey” and “Development of Relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Turkey” from the National Assembly

Fuente: http://armenianweekly.com/2015/02/16/sarkisian-withdraws-protocols/