The background of the Zürich protocols and their “victorious” fiasco

Armenia has repeatedly stated that if the policy of Turkey remains unchanged and there is no positive progress from this state, the Zürich protocols will be declared null and void, and Armenia will enter the spring of 2018 without them. That is what happened: President Serzh Sargsyan annulled the protocols at a session of the National Security Council on March 1, 2018.

Associate expert at the Armenian Institute for International and Security Affairs, expert on Turkey Hayk Gabrielyan, speaking about the possibility of repealing the protocols, a few hours before the statement of the president, first of all, notes that ten years ago we were dealing with a completely different country. “At that time, Turkey pursued a relatively moderate foreign policy, and perhaps the ratification of these protocols was possible then. Now it is even difficult to imagine, especially difficult during Erdogan's presidency,” Hayk Gabrielyan says.

The expert emphasizes that Erdogan has gradually tightened his foreign policy, which is connected with the strengthening of his position in the internal political arena. “The more his positions were strengthened, the tougher became his domestic and foreign policies. Now that we are reviewing the protocols, it's hard to believe that Turkey was ready to respect them,” Gabrielyan emphasizes. Details in the program “Paradigm”.