YEREVAN (Combined Sources)—Armenia and Turkey are not engaged in “silent diplomacy,” Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian told a conference in New Dehli, adding that the Turkish-Armenian protocols ended in deadlock following Turkey’s refusal to drop its preconditions to negotiations.
Nalbandian made his remarks about Turkey during the Indian Council of Foreign Relations, where he also spoke about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
“There is no Zurich second stage or any new negotiations,” Nalbandian said in response to questions about the current status of talks between Armenia and Turkey.
He said any claims by Turkish politicians and media outlets of some form of ongoing talks between the two countries are untrue and the only “step to be made” at this point “is to ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols and implement them without protraction.”
“Armenia will be ready to move forward if Turkey is ready to move forward without preconditions,” Nalbandian added, stressing that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s repeated claims of “silent diplomacy” between the two countries is untrue.
Speaking about the latest round of talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan held under Russian mediation, Nalbandian summarized the agreement reached by the two sides and commented on its implementation thus far. “The two sides met and issued a joint statement agreeing to build mutual trust and reinforce the cease-fire regimes,” he said. “As a first step the parties agreed to exchange the prisoners and the bodies of those killed or captured [in the conflict].”
“We started implementing the agreement following the meeting in Astrakhan,” Nalbandian added. “It’s a pity that Azerbaijan used even this exchange to mislead its public.”
“The wounds of the war unleashed by Azerbaijan have not yet been healed, while Baku is preparing for a new adventurism, and the oil dollars are being spent on preparation of a new military provocation,” he said
“If Azerbaijan wishes to find a solution to the Karabakh issue, it should participate in the negotiations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group practically rather than formally,” Nalbandian added.
The Armenian Foreign Minister is scheduled to arrive in Kolkata over the weekend to meet with the West Bengal governor and representatives of local Armenian community.
Could he just Shut-Up.
What he says is depressing, his file photo is even more depressing.
To asbarez: would it be possible to find another picture please. Thank you.