YEREVAN (Novosti-Armenia), March 4–The National Assembly of Armenia will ratify the Turkish-Armenian protocols minutes after Turkey’s parliament ratifies the documents, according to Hovik Abrahamyan, the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament, on Wednesday during a meeting with the delegation of the international investment company “ARTOC Group.”

During the meeting, at the request of the guests, Abrahamyan touched upon the ratification process of the Armenian-Turkish protocols. He noted that the Armenian-Turkish protocols should deal exclusively with the issues of establishing diplomatic relations and the border opening between the two countries. The speaker also noted that the Armenian parliament will ratify the Turkish-Armenian protocols minutes after they are ratified by the Parliament of Turkey.

The Armenian-Turkish border has been closed since 1993 on the initiative of official Ankara. The complex relationship between the two countries are caused by, inter alia, Ankara’s unwaivering support for Azerbaijan on the Karabakh issue, as well as by Turkey’s acute reaction to the process of international recognition of the 1915 Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire.

The relations between Armenia and Turkey have been rather strained until recently. However, they began to thaw, and on October 10 in Zurich, the foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey, Edward Nalbandian and Ahmed Davutoglu, respectively, signed the “Protocol for establishing diplomatic relations” and “Protocol for the development of bilateral relations.” The documents must be approved by the parliaments of both countries.

Earlier, the Permanent Commission of the National Assembly of Armenia on Foreign Relations suggested to the speaker that he refrain from discussing the Turkish-Armenian protocols at the plenary session until the publication of their conclusion.

Translated from Russian by Yerevan Report