Serzh Sargsyan: In the absence of a positive progress towards the  implementation of the Armenian-Turkish reconciliation protocols,  Armenia will declare them null and void

ArmInfo. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, speaking at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly, expressed gratitude to all those countries that recognized  the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Turkey.

"From this high tribune of Honor and Responsibility I consider it my duty to express  gratitude to those countries that recognized or confirmed their  position on the Armenian Genocide. Thank you, regardless of the  format of this recognition and the language used. Thanks to all those  figures, state bodies, territorial associations or organizations of  many and many countries who publicly call things by their own names. 

This is really important, as oblivion opens the way for new crimes of  genocide, "the RA President said. In this regard, he stressed,  everyone should remember that next year the family of the United  Nations will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Convention on the  Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. "In this  connection, Armenia will come up with a new initiative, and we invite  everyone to join us and support this initiative," the head of the  republic said, stressing that Armenia has never made recognition of  the Armenian Genocide a prerequisite for the settlement of bilateral  relations between the RA and Turkey. Moreover, he noted, it was  thanks to the process initiated by Armenia in October 2009 that the  Zurich protocols were signed. 

"These documents have not been ratified to this day and laid by  Ankara in dark boxes. The Government of Turkey sets forth absurd  preconditions for their ratification, which do not at all follow from  the letter and spirit of the protocols. I expressed the clear  attitude of the Armenian people to all this three years ago from this  high rostrum. Now it's time to give an additional explanation. The  leadership of Turkey is mistaken if it thinks that it can forever  hold these documents hostage and ratify them on a convenient occasion  for them.  Negotiations on protocols were conducted in the current  conditions to find solutions to existing problems, "Sargsyan said,  stressing that in the absence of any positive progress towards their  implementation, Armenia will declare the two protocols null and void.

"We will enter the spring of 2018 without these, unfortunately, the  vain protocols, as experience has shown.  Armenia, nevertheless,  remains confident that any two neighboring states are obliged to  establish and have regular relations to discuss all possible  differences between them and to find their solutions, "the head of  state said, noting that Armenia is guided by this conviction,  realizing their participation in various integration processes.

Protocols on the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations were  signed on October 10, 2009 in Zurich. The protocols were signed by  the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Turkey Edward Nalbandian and  Ahmet Davutoglu in the presence of the Foreign Ministers of France,  the USA, Russia and Switzerland, which was the mediator in the  Armenian-Turkish negotiations since 2007. According to the documents,  diplomatic relations should be established between the countries and  the Armenian-Turkish border closed since 1993 is opened. On January  12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of Armenia recognized the  Protocols as being in compliance with the Armenian Constitution.  There are no preconditions for the Protocols in the conclusion of the  Constitutional Court, because this contradicts the established rule  of verdicts. 

The verdict of the Constitutional Court reads: the Armenian-Turkish  Protocols on the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations are  in accordance with the RA Constitution and the Declaration on the  Independence of Armenia.  In April 2010, the Armenian president  suspended the process of ratifying the protocols.