VIDEO: Edward, agree to the protocol without statements. Lavrov on his letter to Edward Nalbandian

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has detailed the content of a letter he sent to then Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian ahead of the signing of the Armenian-Turkish protocols in 2009.

This was discussed by Lavrov during the "New Knowledge" educational marathon while responding to a question from one of the participants.

The participant reminded Lavrov that he had sent a short letter to Nalbandian in 2009: "The letter was regarding the signing of the protocols for normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey. In that letter, you wrote only 6 words: 'Edward, agree to the protocol without statements.' How did those 6 words convince your Armenian colleague to end the resistance?"

In response, Sergey Lavrov presented the background and explained the meaning of the letter. "If you have delved into this topic, it is necessary to provide the context. The context was that in 2008, our Armenian friends told us that the Turks were proposing to agree on the documents for restoring diplomatic relations, normalizing relations, cooperation, and implementing joint projects. We said this is very good, are there any specific preconditions? No, there are no preconditions. Then it came to the signing stage, which was planned in Zurich – naturally, with the participation of Armenian and Turkish ministers. Hillary Clinton, who was then the U.S. Secretary of State, had also come along with an EU representative, your humble servant, and a few others. We were to be witnesses to this important event, but just before signing, our Turkish counterparts said, yes, we will sign everything, but we need to make a reservation regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. The text of the reservation contradicted Armenia's stance. And I told my colleague that I had warned him that I did not quite believe that everything would happen without preconditions. But we found ourselves in a situation we were in. Everyone had already arrived, and there was a deadlock. Ultimately, the Turkish partner agreed to withdraw that formal condition, but the Armenian colleagues were saying that a statement had to be made reflecting Armenia's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. At that moment, the Turkish minister said that if you make a statement, then I will make a statement as well. We were sitting there, watching football at that time, while the two ministers were arguing late into the night. We understood that we needed to find some way out of this situation, and I wrote to him (Edward Nalbandian) not to insist on the topic of commentary. And that's how it happened. As a result, the documents were signed, but later on, they 'vanished' for the same reason, as the parties had different views on the Nagorno-Karabakh resolution process."

The Russian Foreign Minister added that now, when the war in Nagorno-Karabakh has ended, there are grounds for political processes and the unblocking of transport and economic ties, it would be logical for Armenia and Turkey to resume efforts to normalize relations. Lavrov emphasized that they are ready to support this in the most active way.

You can follow Lavrov's remarks on this issue starting at 31:30 minutes.