Strasbourg,

Question: Recently Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), stated that the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations is linked to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and supposedly there was a an oral agreement between Turkey and Armenia on it, which was also approved by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of other countries, particularly the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of France, Switzerland, Russia and the U.S. Secretary of State. What can you say in that respect?

Edward Nalbandian: It is of course a simplistic distortion. The process of normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations started and was conducted by a mutual understanding and perception that this normalization should be without any preconditions and that is why there is no precondition in the signed Protocols.
All the Ministers of Foreign Affairs present during the ceremony of signature of the Protocols, repeatedly urged to ratify and implement the agreements without preconditions.

Let me also recall the statement of the Secretary of State Clinton that Armenia has passed its way and the ball is in the Turkish court, which should fulfill the undertaken commitments.

So, I do not think that it is appropriate to make futile attempts to put the responsibility on the other side.

Question: Mr. Nalbandian did you separately present your position to the Chairmen on the activities of that Sub-committee - Çavuşoğlu and …..?

Edward Nalbandian: You know, not only we, the Co-Chairs too, which is also very important, stated that they do not find that the revival of this Sub-committee at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe could be useful for the process of the settlement. It is the most important thing. When you create or revive something, you should think of what use has that structure been. So has it been useful? I do not think that, while it was functioning, it was useful. Now the most important is that it did not cause any damage.

Question: Mister Nalbandian Çavuşoğlu also said that in fact the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and Armenian-Turkish relations are connected with the results of the Kazan meeting. Do you share this opinion?

Edward Nalbandian: Of course, it is up to the Turkish side to decide what it wants to do, but you know if we talk in the language of preconditions, immediately after the Zurich when the Turkish side backtracked to the language of preconditions, I said that if we talked in the language of preconditions, then Armenia could have no less substantiated preconditions.

Question: Mr. Nalbandian, what expectations are there from the Kazan meeting?

Edward Nalbandian: I have already made a statement on the Kazan meeting.

Question: Mr. Nalbandian, nevertheless the Sub-committee has started its activities without the participation of the Armenian delegation, the dangers...?

Edward Nalbandian: There is no need to change the format of the settlement. The negotiations and the settlement process are conducted in the frames of the Minsk Group by the support of the Minsk Group Co-Chairs and particularly with the direct participation of Russia, as one of the Minsk Group Co-Chair countries. You know how much contribution has been made by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev recently, and the Kazan meeting also will take be held by his initiative and in his presence.

Question: How legitimate could the decisions of the Sub-committee can be?

Edward Nalbandian: You know yourself, those decisions have nothing to answer, that this Sub-committee is not authorized to make legally-binding decisions.