Armenia's Decision is Beneficial for Turkey: Ankara Responds to Coalition's Statement

The statement made by the Armenian parliamentary coalition over the Armenia-Turkey Protocols is beneficial for Turkey, CNNTurk quotes Turkish retired ambassador and a foreign policy expert Yalim Eralp as saying.

"Earlier Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that they had made a decision over the Protocols and that they would make a statement about it soon. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared in Washington that Ankara is accountable for its signature put under the Protocols. The Armenians had earlier adopted a law which allows annulling international agreements. But this is not the case. The signatures are not being disowned: it is only the ratification of the Protocols that is being suspended. In fact the ratification process is suspended in Turkey. By the same token, judging by the situation in Turkey, Armenia's decision is a convenient one. It leaves the impression that the Armenians will take action as soon as the Turks do so," said the diplomat.

"Earlier President Sargsyan had said that they would not start the ratification of the Protocols unless Turkey does so. I do not think this is a serious development. The process would have been terminated, should they have withdrawn their signature. But the signatures are still in force, and it is the ratification that is being suspended," explained the expert.

Local Turkish daily Hurriyet, in turn, quotes Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Burak Ozugergin saying that they do not have any official information about it.

"We do not have any official information about that decision yet. If it is confirmed, we will make a relevant statement," Ozugergin was quoted as saying.