Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 10 / Trend R.Hafizoglu /
Turkish authorities will try to approve the Ankara-Yerevan protocols by April, Canan Aritman, an MP from the Republican People's Party, said.
"The Turkish government will try to approve the Ankara-Yerevan protocols, using as pretext U.S. pressure," Aritman told Trend via phone.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that submission for consideration of the bill on the so-called, "Armenian genocide" March 4 by the U.S. Congress's Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Howard Berman is not accidental.
He said that for some reason, when Ankara announced the protocols' signing in August there was no pressure. According to him, someone is trying to convince Ankara of something it did not commit.
Davutoglu said that raising of the bill does not match the interests of either Turkey, the U.S. or Armenia.
According to Aritman, Davutoglu's speech in the U.S. Congress is merely a pretext.
She believes that Ankara's concerns about the U.S. recognition of the genocide are groundless.
"Turkey hasn't done it, there is no formal document proving the fact of"genocide" and Turkey's concern about the adoption of such a law by the U.S. is groundless," she said.
Unlike Armenia, Turkey has not disclosed its position about the protocols, the MP said.
"Despite the Armenian Constitutional Court's changes to the protocols, Ankara still hopes for their approval," she said.
According to her, the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) attempts to approve the Ankara-Yerevan protocols will fail.
Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers, Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian, signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocols in Zurich Oct. 10.
After his official visit to Moscow, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Ankara that although some claims that the Turkey-Armenia relations are not related to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, this process is directly related to the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.
Jan.12, 2009, the Armenian Constitutional Court said that the Ankara-Yerevan protocols comply with the Armenian Constitution. However, after the approval the court reported that the creation of a joint commission to study the 1915 events is unnecessary and Armenian will always seek recognition of the genocide.
Erdogan warned that if the Armenian Constitutional Court does not reverse its decision on the protocols, the relations between Ankara and Yerevan may erode.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at [email protected]