Davit Harutyunyan: Ratifying Protocols With Reservations Means Rejec

DAVIT HARUTYUNYAN: RATIFYING PROTOCOLS WITH RESERVATIONS MEANS REJECTING THEM

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.02.2010 17:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian government has already initiated
introduction of amendments to the RA Law On International Agreements,
an Armenian official said.

"The issue will be discussed during next 4-day parliament session,"
head of the Armenian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe Davit Harutyunyan said, when commenting on the
possible withdrawal of signature from the Armenian-Turkish Protocols.

As to the ruling of the RA Constitutional Court, Mr. Harutyunyan
said the CC did not make reservations but just prevented attempts to
distort the essence of the Protocols. "Ratifying the Protocols with
reservations means rejecting them," he said.

Asked about the possible ratification terms, Mr. Harutyunyan remarked,
"I would refrain from setting dates. Reasonable terms can’t imply
years. It’s a matter of a couple of months."

The Protocols aimed at normalization of bilateral ties and opening of
the border between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich by Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian and his Turkish counterpart Ahmet
Davutoglu on October 10, 2009, after a series of diplomatic talks
held through Swiss mediation.

On January 12, 2010, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of
Armenia found the protocols conformable to the country’s Organic Law.