YEREVAN (RFE/RL)–Armenia on Wednesday denounced Turkish leaders’ continuing linkage of Turkish-Armenian relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, saying that Ankara risks wrecking the western-backed rapprochement between the two states.
Speaking after talks with U.S. President Barack Obama in the White House on Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan insisted that the normalization of his country’s historically strained ties with Armenia is “very much related” to international efforts to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Reacting to the remarks, Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said, “It is absolutely meaningless to speak in the language of preconditions because we started this process with an understanding that it can be conducted without preconditions. We reached agreements and signed corresponding protocols that don’t contain any preconditions.”
“Returning to preconditions means entering a vicious circle in which we were before starting this process,” Nalbandian told journalists in the Armenian parliament. “Those who make such attempts will assume full responsibility for all resulting consequences.”
President Serzh Sarkisian similarly warned Ankara on November 28 against delaying the parliamentary ratification of the two Turkish-Armenian protocols envisaging the establishment of diplomatic relations and reopening of the border between the two neighboring nations. “If Turkey drags out the ratification process, then … Armenia will not hesitate to take adequate steps conforming to international law,” he said in an apparent threat to annul the agreements.
Nalbandian told the National Assembly that Yerevan’s insistence on the unconditional implementation of those agreements reflects “the opinion of the entire international community.” He pointed to a newly publicized letter in which Obama reiterated Washington’s view that the normalization process should be completed “without preconditions and within a reasonable timeframe.”
“According to our information, the same thing was said during the meeting with Erdogan,” added Nalbandian.
Two leading international human rights groups – Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, gave U.S. President Barack Obama mixed reviews on his human rights record on Wednesday, a day before he is slated to accept the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Thursday
Contact Nobel Piece Prize Committee asking to change their mind. Obama does it all the time.
I don’t blame the opportunistic Turks, I blame Armenia’s INCOMPETENT leaders. And yes “blame” is necessary and it is the correct word to use as everyone must be held accountable for their stupidity including our sleeping beauty’s in Yerevan.
Mr. Nalbandyan it seems to me that either you did not participate in the signing of the protocol, nor have you or your Boss ever laid an eye on the content of what you gave to the turkey’s .
Erdogan made several amazing mistakes in Washington. Obama did his own by neither approving nor disproving the statements. Armenians, if united, can find in a single move solution to the problem. Armenia recognize tomorrow independent Artsakh, as Obama is receiving Nobel Piece Prize in Oslo! Otherwise, starting January the “Process” will start – UN, EU, USA sending officers to check on this on that to prove who his the master here; intimidating “shower” of personal blackmailing of the Armenian government and Parliament; Azeri and Turkey propaganda, demonstration of military power, and so on.
When commentators talked in the past about rigged elections threatening Armenia’s national security, this is what they had in mind. If Sarkisian had looked into the eyes of foreign leeches and confidently relied on and demonstrated Armenian populations’ full backing to his presidency, this would not have happened. Right now Armenia’s foreign policy is on a very thin crust, and their leaders look like clowns, both in the eyes of their own public (which they can exert pressure and keep them in line) and in the eyes of all foreigners (over which the Armenian leadership not only has no power but in fact are forced to behave like gofers). I think now is the time Sarkisian REALLY started to listen to healthy voices around him (if there are any left) to get out of this mess. I think the first sign of it is to get rid of his clown-in-chief, Nalbandian.
Cool down people…the clowns are playing a good game….
President Obama is no longer credible on the Armenian issue/question
President Obama is no longer credible in the USA…look at unemployment…foreclosures, 1 in 10 home mortagages are defaulting in payment….etc…not to mention failed domestic policy… Obama is a has been…and will soon be history by the time the next election is around….
Now as for us…what do we do as Armenians…we need to recognize that after 100 years of conducting this fight to have the genocide recognized…we failed in our approach…why? our tactics are obviously no good…we failed…we need to analyze why , take corrective action and proceed…Turkey is not undefeatable…the Arab nations are already doubting Turkey’s sincerity in its last attempt to befriend/colonize them….lol…recently….! Syria, Iraq and even Iran is now saying…Thanks Turkey…no but thank you…The only Turkey I like is at Thanks giving
Let us not be afraid of Turkey…for they will soon fall…their own people will bring them and their regime down once they realize they’ve been lied to and continue to be lied to… All this hype we hear is just plain bullshit… we need to restructure, think like we can and apply new tactics that will work.
As for Alyev…he reminds me of President Nasser of Egypt, in his propaganda campaign, before the 1967 War against Israel…he was going to not only take the occupied Palestinian land back…but he was going to push the Jews into the Mediteranean….we all know what happened in 1967… Good luck Azeris…you are going to need all the luck you can get…! Need we say more….!
Review, Renew, Implement…! …..is what we need to do as a Nation…..simple American marketing…!
Eduard Nalbandyan again speaks of no preconditions, yet he was the one who signed the protocols in Zurikh on October 10’th, 2009. Who is he or Serzh Sargsyan trying to fool!
Long live free Artsakh,long live Armenia.
I think Nalbandian does not know what preconditions mean. In a nutshell, the protocols that he signed included the following Turkish preconditions, that no Arnmenian in his/her right mind could have accepted:
– Give up the fight for Genocide recognition, by adhering to the so-called historic commission.
– Give up the fight for Genocide reparations and land claims, by accepting the current borders.
– Agree to territorial integrity of other states in the area without the “self-determination” clause, meaning; give-up Karabakh.
I think what he’s trying to say is; Armenia had no preconditions, however Armenia is ready to accept any preconditions the other parties might have !
I nominate my Minister for next year’s Nobel Prize of political illiteracy.