EuroNews, France
Oct 10 2009
Distrust mars Turkey-Armenia deal
Turkey and Armenia sign a deal today in Zurich normalising relations,
but in the Armenian capital Yerevan thousands of people have taken to
the streets to condemn the protocol.
The president of Azerbaijan has called for a resolution in Armenia’s
conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh before relations with
Turkey, an Azeri ally, can be normalised. Many Armenians agree with
him:
"We are against these protocols, these so-called protocols that are as
good as signed already, because they fulfil all of Turkey’s demands,"
said an opposition leader, Armen Rostomyan.
A year ago a handshake between the Turkish and Armenian leaders when
their nations met on the football field signalled a thawing of
relations that have been bitter since the first world war.
But this week’s talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan on resolving
their two-decades long conflict floundered on Friday. The Azeri
president put the failure down to the deal reached with Turkey.
Relations between Turkey and Armenia have been soured for so long
mainly because of Armenian accusations they suffered a genocide at the
hands of Turkish troops as the Ottoman empire collapsed. Turkey has
always denied the genocide took place.