Turkey-Armenia protocols can still be brought forward to the Turkish Parliament and be voted on, European Program Director at the International Crisis Group Sabine Freizer told Armenian News-NEWS.am.
In an e-mail letter she commented on recent statement by Turkish President Abdullah Gul that the protocols cannot be considered dead.
The expert considers Turkish parliament is unlikely to vote until there is some positive movement on the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
In October 2009 Armenia and Turkey signed protocols in Zurich to normalize diplomatic relations between the states. The documents had to be ratified in both countries’ parliaments. However, in 2010 the Armenian president suspended the process due to Turkey’s non-constructive stance.
Ankara set preconditions and linked the reconciliation process to resolution of the Karabakh conflict.Turkey decided to remove the protocols from parliament’s agenda this August.
“Even though there is no legal link between the two issues, in practice and for political reasons Turkey has linked them. Ankara has not clearly defined what it means by ‘progress’ however, it could possibly mean the signature of an agreement on basic principles or the start of withdrawal by Armenian forces of one or two of the occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh,” she said.
According to Freizer, such a withdrawal would indeed change the whole dynamic in the region towards peace and development. “Neither Armenia nor Nagorno-Karabakh have ever claimed sovereignty over territories like Fizuli,” she said.
Commenting on the protocols, she stressed that even if they are not yet signed, “normalization between Armenia and Turkey is moving forward with regards to contacts in many fields.”
via Turkey will sign protocols if Armenia surrenders 2 regions – Sabine Freizer | Armenia News – NEWS.am.