Following the signing of a protocol on Saturday between Turkey and Armenia to establish diplomatic relations, the approval process of the protocol in the Turkish Parliament will begin after Armenia withdraws from Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani territory, government sources told Today’s Zaman.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, signed an agreement in Zurich to reinstate formal ties and reopen a border closed since 1993 within two months of the agreement’s ratification by both parliaments. Turkey closed the border between the two countries in 1993 to protest Armenia’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, part of Azerbaijan, a key Turkish ally and energy supplier.
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) parliamentary group deputy chairman Bekir Bozda№ said the approval process of the agreement will depend on Armenia’s withdrawal from the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Stressing that the entire world wants the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to be settled, parliamentary foreign affairs committee spokesman and AK Party deputy Suat Kınıklıoğlu said: “The internal process in Parliament is, of course, clearly defined in the regulations of Parliament. It will first come to the foreign affairs committee and will be debated there. If it passes the committee, then it will be sent to the advisory council of the speaker’s office and from there it would be sent to the floor of the general assembly. When and how this process will fare is dependent on parallel processes. Here the political will and courage of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leadership is key. The Minsk Group demonstrated its support during and before the signing ceremony. Not only Turkey and our Parliament but the whole world is expecting positive movement on Karabakh.”
Kınıklıoğlu said a significant step has been taken toward normalization in the southern Caucasus, as he added: “This is a historic process. We welcome the overall optimism and encourage the parties to take appropriate steps to further strengthen the ongoing process of normalization in the South Caucasus. We always maintained that Turkish-Armenian normalization is forcing the South Caucasus to be transformed into a stable and predictable neighborhood of Turkey.”
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) accused the government of taking a “backward step” in Turkish foreign policy by signing the deal with Armenia and say the protocol will place Azerbaijan in a difficult situation and should not be approved by Parliament. CHP deputy leader Onur жymen said the protocol, which he said included the demands of Armenia, does not have any chance of being approved by Parliament, while MHP group deputy chairman Oktay Vural called on the entire nation to stand up against the approval of the protocol in the Turkish Parliament.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
