Global General

Armenia coalition halts ratification of Turkey deal

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-04-22 20:27

YEREVAN - Armenia's ruling coalition said on Thursday it had decided to freeze the ratification in parliament of accords with Turkey aimed at normalising ties between the historic foes.

Armenia and Turkey signed accords in October last year designed to overcome the legacy of the World War One mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, but the atmosphere has soured in the past few months, raising doubt over when they will be ratified.

"Considering the Turkish side's refusal to fulfil the requirement to ratify the accord without preconditions in a reasonable time, making the continuation of the ratification process in the national parliament pointless, we consider it necessary to suspend this process," the statement said.

Under the accords, Armenia and Turkey agreed to establish diplomatic ties and open the border within two months of parliamentary approval.

The protocols face opposition from Turkey's fellow-Muslim ally Azerbaijan, which wants to see progress over its breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In Ankara, a foreign ministry official said Turkey had not received any official information about the suspension of the protocols' ratification.