Discussions on Turkey-Armenia protocols start in Turkey

On Aug. 31, Turkey and Armenia in the talks mediated by Switzerland reached an agreement to launch "internal political consultations" to sign the Protocol on Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Protocol on Development of Bilateral Relations, the Turkish Foreign Ministry reported.

Political consultations will be completed within six weeks, and following that two protocols will be signed and submitted to the two countries' parliaments for approval. At present Turkey does not plan to open the borders with Armenia, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davudoglu, said.

Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993.

The Turkish Foreign Minister appealed to hold a meeting to discuss the Turkey-Armenia protocol reached by the mediation of Switzerland in the Turkish Parliament. Davudoglu said that he will meet with the leaders of the country's opposition leaders to discuss the Ankara-Yerevan protocol.

The meeting between the opposition leader and Davudoglu to discuss the protocol is expected to take place on Sept.15.

Deniz Baykal, Turkish Opposition Leader, demanded to include the Nagorno-Karabakh issue in the Ankara-Yerevan protocol signed in August.

Devlet Bahcheli, Leader of other opposition party "National movement", refused to meet with Davudoglu.

/Trend News/