The process now moves from the protocols to the parliaments of Turkey and Armenia, the real test for further developments or tension in Armenian politics will be from the Turkish side, Director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) Richard Giragosian said.
“In other words, the course of the protocols through the Turkish parliament, combined with strong statements from Turkish fficials designed to reassure Azerbaijan, will clearly „raise the stakes“ and increase the political tension within Armenia,” Giragosian wrote Trend News in an
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davudoglu said at a news conference that the country’s parliament will have the last word on ratification of the Ankara-Yerevan protocols, CNN Turk reported.
“The country’s Parliament will decide whether to ratify the Ankara-Yerevan protocols,” Davudoglu said.
The Turkish parliament will hold discussions on the protocols on Oct.21.
Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers, Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocol in Zurich on Oct. 10.
According to Giragosian, although the opposition within Armenia has already initiated a campaign of pressure and political posturing aimed at influencing the government’s opening to Turkey, the only way that the country’s opposition can truly exert effective leverage is if Turkey fails to fulfill the terms of the protocols.
“In this context, the Armenian government seems to be increasingly politically susceptible to criticism and may become more vulnerable to political pressure if the bid for normalizing relations with Turkey fails,” the expert added.
If the protocols fail to pass the Turkish parliament, the Armenian government may be roundly criticized and condemned for naively pursuing an “irresponsible policy.”
That would not only bolster the critics of the entire process, but would also make any 's econd” attempt at normalization even that much harder, Giragosian believes.
“This is an opportunity for Turkey to miss, affirming that the real burden is now on Turkey alone,” Giragosian added.
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