“The signing of the Armenian-Turkish protocols will inaugurate the Armenian people’s struggle for its rights against Turkey,” Vice-Chairman of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), head of the RPA parliamentary faction Galust Sahakyan told NEWS.am, commenting on the Turkish media report on the planned signing of the Protocols in Zurich on October 10.

“Once we embarked on a hard way. The result is the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Therefore, the Armenian people must show determination in dealing with Turkey,” Sahakyan said. He stressed that, if Turkey signs the Protocols, the Armenian authorities must find a way of signing them as well – even if a wave of protest rises. “We will have to sign the Protocols, even if with reservations,” Sahakyan said. He admitted the risks of signing the Protocols. “The greatest risk is that we are striking a bargain with Turks. A Turk remains a Turk, and what is more dangerous than dealing with him,” Sahakyan said.

Speaking of RA President Serzh Sargsyan’s forthcoming pan-Armenian tour, he said that the President’s aim is not “persuading” the Diaspora. Rather, he is going to inform the Armenians of the ongoing processes. “Even if the people do not support the authorities, the Armenian-Turkish process will go on. It may be delayed, but not suspended,” Sahakyan said. “Let’s hope that ten years after normalizing its relations with Turkey Armenia becomes a strong and prosperous state, even at the expense of the image of RPA, which shouldered the responsibility for the consequences of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement,” Sahakyan said.