Resistance in Armenia to protocol with Turkey
In the light of present discussion on Armenian-Turkish relations some Armenian politicians are inclined not to comment on the current stage of relations but instead suggest reviewing history.
Arman Melikyan, former Foreign Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, believes that Armenia should not sign Armenian-Turkish protocols, (which among other things suggest the recognition of the current Armenia-Turkish border) but instead to start negotiations with Turkey over annulling the Treaty of Kars, which defines the borders between Turkey and the Transcaucasian countries. (Including Armenia)
The Treaty of Kars was signed in 1921 between Kemalist Turkey and Bolshevik Russia.
Armenia and Turkey had not any kind of relations after 1993 and now that a dialogue has started, Melikyan says it should include debate on old agreements.
“It will put an end to the creation of the relations established then,” Melikyan says. “And eventually it is necessary to create a plan of Armenian-Turkish joint actions, by which new diplomatic relations will start with Turkey.”
According to the above mentioned Treaty based on the Treaty of Moscow signed between the same countries earlier in 1921, Armenia ceded 24,000 square kilometers of territory (the Kars province and Surmalu entirely) to Turkey, and Nakhijevan was placed under Azerbaijan’s command.
According to Melikyan, since the signing of the Treaty of Kars was imposed on Armenia, it runs counter to all modern standards of international law. “If Turkey is really sincere, and if it, in fact, seeks to establish equal bilateral relations with Armenia, it must disavow those two treaties.”
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Arman Melikyan, former Foreign Minister of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, believes that Armenia should not sign Armenian-Turkish protocols, (which among other things suggest the recognition of the current Armenia-Turkish border) but instead to start negotiations with Turkey over annulling the Treaty of Kars, which defines the borders between Turkey and the Transcaucasian countries. (Including Armenia)
The Treaty of Kars was signed in 1921 between Kemalist Turkey and Bolshevik Russia.
Armenia and Turkey had not any kind of relations after 1993 and now that a dialogue has started, Melikyan says it should include debate on old agreements.
“It will put an end to the creation of the relations established then,” Melikyan says. “And eventually it is necessary to create a plan of Armenian-Turkish joint actions, by which new diplomatic relations will start with Turkey.”
According to the above mentioned Treaty based on the Treaty of Moscow signed between the same countries earlier in 1921, Armenia ceded 24,000 square kilometers of territory (the Kars province and Surmalu entirely) to Turkey, and Nakhijevan was placed under Azerbaijan’s command.
According to Melikyan, since the signing of the Treaty of Kars was imposed on Armenia, it runs counter to all modern standards of international law. “If Turkey is really sincere, and if it, in fact, seeks to establish equal bilateral relations with Armenia, it must disavow those two treaties.”