YEREVAN. – The Swiss are trying to revive the Armenian-Turkish protocols. New talks could resume, but Turkey must prove its sincerity, Regional Studies Center Director Richard Giragosian said, during a press conference on Thursday, adding that the Armenian-Turkish protocols are dead.    

In his words, in this case Karabakh will not be viewed as a precondition for normalizing relations.

With respect to the proposal to withdraw Armenia’s signature from the protocols, Giragosian noted: “That suggestion is unrealistic. You either ratify, or not ratify, but you cannot withdraw the signature.”

According to the analyst, the protocols were not the best means to normalize the relations. “You do not need protocols for normalization and opening of the borders. That is why they were wrong in the sense of normalization,” Giragosian stressed. 

And concerning the Armenian Genocide issue, Richard Giragosian said: “We must assist those Turks who are brave and who accept the fact of the genocide. They are being pressured. If Turkey starts normalizing relations for a second time, but with the sole objective of hampering genocide recognition, this would adversely affect Turkey itself.”