Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 29 / Trend E.Tariverdiyeva /
The Turkish government may sacrifice the Armenian-Turkish protocols for the sake of domestic policy, Director of the Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS), Richard Giragosian, said.
"The Turkish AKP government may make a deal with the political opposition in favor of passing the Kurdish initiative, which is more strategically important to Ankara," Giragosian wrote Trend in an e-mail.
In his opinion, such a scenario may result in the sacrifice of the protocols in order to secure passage of the Kurdish initiative once the new Turkish parliamentary session.
"Despite everything, the AKP will solve the Kurdish problem in the country," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Earlier in the meeting with the leader of Kurd Democratic Society Party (DTP) Ahmet Türk, head of the government said that the settlement of the Kurdish problem will enter an active phase in the near future.
The majority of the Turkish opposition, headed by the leader Deniz Baykal and Devlet Bakhcheli considers that the authorities are negotiating with people who promote terrorism in the region. The opposition is against the approval of Erdogan' Kurdish initiative by the parliament.
The protocols will face new pressure and difficulty once the signed protocols are submitted to the Turkish parliament, although there is less concern over any delay or problems within the Armenian parliament, the expert added.
According to Giragosian, the Turkish parliament may demand some linkage to the Nagorno Karabakh issue, which may effectively violate the letter and spirit of the protocols.
The protocol's final version will be signed by foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey, Ahmet Davudoglu and Edward Nalbandian on Oct.10 or Oct.11, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Trend in an exclusive interview.
On Aug. 31, Turkey and Armenia in the talks mediated by Switzerland reached an agreement to launch "internal political consultations" to sign the Protocol on Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Protocol on Development of Bilateral Relations, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said.
"Political consultations will be completed within six weeks, and following that two protocols will be signed and submitted to the two countries' parliaments for approval," the ministry said.
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 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
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