The National Assembly of Armenia plans to ratify Armenian-Turkish protocols on bilateral relations only after the Turkish Parliament signs them, Armenian speaker Ovik Abramian said on Wednesday.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu signed protocols on establishing diplomatic relations and on developing bilateral relations last October. They are yet to be approved by their parliaments.
"The Armenian-Turkish protocols should only concern issues of establishing diplomatic relations and the opening of the borders between the two countries. The speaker said the Armenian Parliament will ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols after they are ratified by the Turkish Parliament," the press service of the Armenian Parliament said in a statement.
The Armenian-Turkish border has been closed since 1993 on Ankara's initiative. Bilateral relations are complicated over the genocide issue as well as by Turkey's support of Azerbaijan's position in the Nagorny Karabakh problem.
Azerbaijan recently renewed threats of military action to retake disputed Nagorny Karabakh over a lack of progress in talks with Armenia.
A fragile ceasefire has been in place in the region since a brutal war in the 1990s between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed enclave inside Azerbaijan with a predominantly ethnic Armenian population. Some 30,000 people died in the conflict, which erupted after the mountainous region declared independence in 1991. Karabakh has been under Armenian control since a Russian-brokered ceasefire in 1994.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Monday at a joint press conference after talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev that France and Russia will continue close cooperation in settling the Karabakh conflict.
YEREVAN, March 3 (RIA Novosti)
