Ratification in Turkey Was Suspended Far Long Ago: CNNTurk

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it was up to Armenia to decide what to do with the ratification of the Armenia-Turkey Protocols.

It follows a statement by the Armenian parliamentary ruling coalition which proposed suspending the ratification process without withdrawing the signatures.

“The competent body [for the ratification of the Protocols] is the parliament. It is up to them to decide what to do with the process,” Erdogan was quoted by CNNTurk as saying.

It also said that the coalition move is considered in Turkey as a step taken ahead of April 24 when the US President Barack Obama will deliver his commemoration address.

According to CNNTurk Turkish Foreign Ministry high-ranking officials are drawing attention to the fact that Yerevan does not withdraw its signatures from the Armenia-Turkey Protocols but rather suspends the ratification process in the parliament.

Further the source recalls that the ratification process in Turkey had been suspended in fact after the ruling by the Constitutional Court of Armenia over the constitutionality those documents. CNNTurk points to the lack of progress in the Karabakh conflict settlement as another reason for the suspension of the process in Turkey.

On the one hand, according to CNNTurk, Turkish officials are waiting for Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan’s statement over his decision, and are trying to assess the situation on the other.