LONDON (Combined Sources)–Efforts to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia and open their common border could fail unless the process is carried out “properly,” Turkey’s foreign minister said Friday, referring to a ruling by Armenia’s Constitutional Court over the protocols.
“If we are not convinced that the process is being carried out properly, there is no possibility to carry it forward,” Ahmet Davutoglu told Turkish journalists a London.
Davutoglu’s warning is the strongest response yet from Turkey to an Armenian court ruling this month that has cast doubt over accords signed in October.
Armenia’s Constitutional Court reaffirmed the constitutionality of the agreements on January 12, but highlighted that the agreements could have no bearing on the Armenian government’s constitutional obligation to seek international recognition of the Armenian Genocide by Ottoman Turkey. The court also reiterated that the protocols could have no link to the Karabakh conflict.
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian is bound by the constitution to include the high court’s reservations when he submits the protocols to parliament for ratification.
Davutoglu has accused Armenia of trying to rewrite the protocols that launched the reconciliation three months ago.
“We respect every country’s way of functioning. It is their own process, but what concerns us is not changing the documents amid that ongoing functioning,” he said in reference to the court ruling, the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News reported.
Davutoglu made his remarks after meeting Thursday with his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, on the sidelines of an international conference regarding Afghanistan.
“We believe [the court ruling] brings restrictions to the protocols. We raised our expectation that the process should not be blurred,” Davutoglu said of his meeting with Nalbandian.
Davutoglu said he is seeking clarification from the Armenian side over the extent to which Sarkisian’s administration will adhere to the court ruling.
“We have worked with Nalbandian on various stages and gone through a difficult process. There were disagreements but the process that has carried us this far should not be harmed,” Davutoglu said, adding that “mutual determination, mutual goodwill and mutual political will are needed for normalization” of relations.
Davutoglu predictably made no mention of growing international frustration with Turkey over its attempts to insert preconditions into the normalization process by linking the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to its parliament’s ratification of the protocols.
“We have open-mindedly exchanged our views [with Nalbandian],” said Davutoğlu, who declined to elaborate further, saying only, “The Armenian side is well aware of our opinion.”
The two ministers agreed to meet more in the coming days. One of those meetings could be on the sidelines of an international security conference in Munich, Germany next week, Hurriyet said, quoting unnamed Turkish diplomats. Nalbandian, however, is reportedly not to attend the Munich conference, according to the Armenian Foreign Ministry.
“There is not a visit to Munich and a meeting with Turkey’s Foreign Minister in Mr. Nalbandian’s schedule,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan was quoted as saying.
The Armenian court ruling spurred much diplomatic traffic on the sidelines of the London conference. Davutoglu met with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Elmar Mammadyarov, on Thursday for talks on the matter.
Davutoglu also held a 15-minute meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Wednesday and said he conveyed Turkey’s concerns over the Armenian court decision to Washington. “I am of the opinion that the United States better understands Turkey’s concerns.” Clinton met separately with Nalbandian.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also met separately with Nalbandian and his Azeri counterpart over the ongoing Minsk Group Karabakh negotiations.
Turkish foreign policy never change, their goal is to stop spread of further Genocide recognition, especially in UK and US……border opening is a Turkish excuse to Europe, US, and Armenian nation…these mongols think, that they have a holy power to rewrite the history of uncivilized ottoman invaders, in a well civilized ancient Christian nations, where most of them gone with the sword, except little Armenia..there will be many Oglus, who will preach forcefully before April 24, after the pace will slow down, until next January 2011. This is a “made in Turkey” movies, where the players and producers keep changing once in every few years.
I hope gono to be TRUTH. result of our GREAT PARTY’S
TASHNAGTZOUTYOUN STRUGGLE.
LONG LIVE A.R.F.
LONG LIVE ARMENIA
LONG LIVE ARMENIANS AROUND THE WORLD
It’s simply astounding that Davutoglu and the rest of these Turkish mongrels have the audacity to actually accuse Armenia of revision attempts of the “Protocols”. Since the signing of those documents, Turkey has incessantly, albeit, pathetically tried to use the wording of these documents as a springboard of sorts to tie Armenian-Turkish border “reconciliations” to the whines of Azeris still crying about the beating they took 20 years ago when the people of Arstakh, namely the Christian Armenians, declared their independence and fought to take their land back to join up with their motherland, Armenia.
Furthermore, Turkey also tried to falsely assert that the “Protocols” could only be implemented if Armenians, both in Armenia and the Diaspora stopped pursuing just, rightful, and highly past due geopolitical and socioeconomic reparations for the Armenian Genocide committed by Turkey during World War I against the Armenian people and nation; an act that clearly stands as one of the most heinous if not the most heinous crime against humanity.
Now amidst these two HUGE attempted stalls, pre-conditions, and “modifications” Turkey tried to pull off itself in the ensuing months after the Protocols have been signed, they actually have the nerve to “cry wolf” on Armenia’s Constitutional Court ruling on the Protocols and even attempt to dictate how and when Armenia’s legislature “should react or respond” ?
Armenia’s courts, and the courts of any nation, have the right to assess and formulate, based on their own imminent constitutional beliefs, the veracity of any document that affects domestic matters of national importance for a nation’s future and people. This is the true meaning of any nation’s “right to self-determination” and as such, any attempts by any foreign entity such as the U.S., the EU, Turkey, or Santa Clause to geopolitically pressure, militarily threaten, or simply bark pathetic demands is a direct violation of the basic rights to self-determination and as such any and all response by those who’s future and current human rights are jeopardized is just and absolutely warranted.
More importantly, if “neutral states” such as Switzerland, or nation state conglomerates such as the EU are so concerned about the “rights to self-determination” being “guaranteed”, they should come to the realization just as 10 million Armenians did 25 years ago that the only true “guarantee” that any people can have in preserving its own “right to self determine” is the guarantee of self-reliance. As such, the Madrid Principles and its modern legislative lies which foreign states are trying to impose on Armenians is nothing more than yet another attempt for the same nations that have drafted the Madrid Principles to secure geopolitical situations for themselves that only benefit themselves and no one else.
The very notion of “giving back” all seven or any of the seven regions which were fought, liberated, and bled for by the Armenians of Arstakh is the very antithesis of any sort of ideas regarding “rights to self determination” or “guarantees of resolution”.
We Armenians saw how well foreign guarantees have worked for our people in the 20th century. Thus far, such guarantees garnered us as a people a Genocide of 2 million of our women, children, and men, 80 years of soviet oppression, ethnic cleansing of Armenian enclaves in Sumgait and greater Azerbaijan, a war of self-independence and defense against Azeri military aggression against civilian populations, and now a set of “protocols” that have been put together by the same groups of powers that gave us guarantees in the past.
Let us in one forceful and unequivocal voice say to these offers, false criticism, and guarantees , “THANKS, but NO THANKS!” The only guarantee Armenians in Arstakh, around the world, and in Armenia are currently interested in is the one single guarantee which we draft up for ourselves, which includes the willingness to protect our people, our land, our culture, and our way of life in the face of political and foreign aggression. We and only we, the Armenians, dictate our future and never again will we be sold short to foreign “guarantees” or be subject to forces against us with impunity.
AMEN To that Norin.. Excellent article…
Gayane
You Mr. self-proclaimed “scholar” are telling us that a piece of paper named “Protocol” that has you signature on it has more value than Constitution of our country?
Is that how you became a scholar?
The constitution of our country is the most valuable document which has been approved by Armenian people and ACC is the keeper of that document, they make the final interpretations of constitution and should not allow any one including the President of Armenia to violate those rules, now you Mr. scholar if you really “Respect every country’s way of functioning” then the final word of the ACC is our way of functioning, maybe you guys in Turkey are used to not respect the constitution but if Turkey has one and you respect it then you MUST shut your mouth respectfully because that’s what ACC said.
Ay mart.. meka chuka vor et shunin mi hat asi du heriqa hachas… can’t you see your barking is not going to take your no land govt no where? Sents el ban klini? Hulu mi hat el iranq en demand anum.. ay shun em asel…
What Armenia should do is start demanding from Turkey.. why are we silent?
DEVIL u toghlu needs to step aside and play with the hot fire that will engulp him sooner or later cause he is going to die in hell.
G
So what if the protocols could fall through? Enough of this turkish bluffs! Armenians do not need the Genocidal turks..
We cant wait for the protocols to fall through the sooner the better.
Good ridance to bad rubbish!
May the Turks isolate themselves from the rest of the world forever. May they boil in their own stew till eternity. May the deniers and the complicit world bodies go to Jahenem and quickly. Armenia does not need Turkey’s border. Armenia has an open border trading goods and services with Iran and Georgia.
The days of Mongolian domination and tyranny are over. Somebody should forceably convey that meassage to the Turkish scum.
GOOD!!!!!
Good, even better , canacel the whole crap, who needs you anyway.
Fall through? They are already dead on arrival. The ball is in their court. I hope they are dead forever. Let them boil in their own stew till eternity. They will never get into the EU.
Demand Western Armenian lands ..
we are not the only ones who can see them, everyone everywhere is so fed-up with them, they got nothing, absolutely nothing and no one, they are so finished all the signs are there. they are desperate for that border to open, they are so desperate for the protocols to work, trying so hard to show up as the ones who can but it’s too late for them, they are trapped now, they dug it for us but are ending up in it.
Grigor, About the time!!!
well said
Unfortunately, it is not in the Armenian nature to demand things…it is not polite and we are not demanders.. However, I say forget about the humbleness, politeness and friendshipness.. DEMAND AWAY.. We have the right and why dont’ we use that right? Are we the only culture that have rights yet not use it to full advantage? It seems like it…
So lets simply demand.. and see what happens… The BIG THREE SHARKS may be taken back and laugh but eventually they will cave in because we will stand strong and won’t budge until we get our rights back..darn them..
G