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.

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tags: Armenia, Diplomacy, Turkey