VIDEO: Our political force supports the normalization of relations with Turkey, Ruben Rubinyan

In the negotiations with Turkey, a working group composed of ministry staff and diplomats is assisting Armenia's special representative. Today, in response to questions raised by the opposition in the National Assembly, Armenia's special representative and deputy speaker of the National Assembly Ruben Rubinyan announced this.

He also stated that before meeting with the Turkish representative, he consulted with experts who had previously negotiated with that country. “Yes, of course, I have consulted and will continue to consult. I will not name names because I have not received permission to do so. But believe me, I have consulted and will continue to do so,” Rubinyan noted.

The deputy speaker clarified that he does not have the right to unilaterally sign any document or make decisions. “Can I say, this is how it is and that’s all? Of course not, because I am the representative, which means that I am not the subject that makes the decision. The subject is the government, and depending on the situation, the government will make a decision if we reach such a point,” he said.

The special representative assured that he is open to any public and non-public discussions, thus lamenting that the discussions on the matter are taking place in a highly manipulative atmosphere. Instead, Rubinyan urged the opposition factions to start discussions on the normalization of relations with Turkey by stating their position.

“Our political force supports the normalization of relations with Turkey without preconditions. I urge the two opposition factions to express their position on the following question: do the two opposition factions support the normalization of relations with Turkey without preconditions? Yes or no. After receiving the answer to this question, I propose we move on to substantive discussions on why yes or why not, and if yes, then how. And so on,” Rubinyan stated, reminding that Turkey also mentioned in its statement that it agreed to continue negotiations without preconditions.

It should be reminded that there are no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey. In 2009, the foreign ministers of the two countries signed protocols in Zurich to establish diplomatic relations, but those documents were never ratified.

Yerevan and Ankara announced in December 2021 that they were ready to take concrete steps towards normalizing relations and appointed special representatives: Ankara appointed Serdar Kılıç, the former ambassador to Washington, while Armenia appointed Ruben Rubinyan, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly.

On January 14, the special representatives of Armenia and Turkey met in Moscow. Later, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that the parties had agreed to continue negotiations aimed at full normalization without preconditions.