The Turkish opposition called for the government on Tuesday to halt the reconciliation process with Armenia following the recognition by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire.
Last week, following almost six hours of heated debates, the committee voted 23-22 in support of a resolution condemning as genocide the killing of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians by Turks during World War I.
The U.S. resolution raised a storm in international diplomacy, posing a threat for the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process, which has been underway since October 2009.
An agreement on the restoration of frozen diplomatic relations and reopening borders, signed by the two countries” foreign ministers during a meeting in Switzerland, is still to be ratified by the two countries” parliaments.
Deniz Baykal, the leader of the Turkish opposition Republican People”s Party, called for the parliament on Tuesday to recall the reconciliation protocols from the Turkish legislature. He reiterated that the signing of the agreement would be “inexpedient” and its implementation “impossible” as long as Yerevan maintained its “unfriendly” attitude towards Turkey.
“Now, it”s necessary to exclude the protocols, which have no value, from the parliament”s agenda,” he said.
