Ankara ‘committed to spirit of Armenian deal

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç.

Ankara will remain committed to protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia aiming to normalize bilateral relations, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç has said, after Yerevan recently decided to withdraw the 2008 protocols from the Armenian Parliament.

Bilgiç told reporters yesterday that Yerevan has decided to withdraw the Protocol on Establishing of Diplomatic Relations and the Protocol on Developing Relations in order “to create a reason to accuse Turkey” ahead of the 100th anniversary of the massacres of Ottoman Armenians, which Armenia recognizes as genocide.

“Turkey disagrees with the attitude taken by the Armenian side,” he said, describing Yerevan’s step as “wrong and unfortunate.”

The move displays Armenia’s “incoherent and insincere” stance, Bilgiç stated, adding that “Turkey will remain loyal to regional normalization process which is the fundemental goal of the protocols.”

On Feb. 16, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that he has asked the country’s parliamentary speaker to withdraw his signature from a groundbreaking 2009 agreement with Turkey meant to restore ties between the two nations.

Sargsyan said in a statement that Armenia would not ratify the agreement because of the “preconditions” that Turkey is putting in place before it ratifies its side of the deal.

The agreement aims to restore diplomatic ties between the countries as well as reopen the common border, which has been closed since 1993.