The Turkish parliament will not ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved, Turkish State Minister and Chief Negotiator for EU Negotiations Egemen Bagis said at a press conference at the EU representative office in Denmark this week, the Hurriyet newspaper reported today.
In April, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree suspending the ratification of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement protocols. The protocols were signed by both countries' foreign ministers in October last year.
Sargsyan said they were suspended in the country's "national interests."
Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey were severed due to Armenia's claims of an alleged genocide, and its occupation of Azerbaijani lands. The border between the two countries has been closed since 1993.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions.