This week the Armenian-Turkish diplomatic protocols has been formally put into circulation within the Armenian National Assembly and the legislative body’s standing foreign relations committee has been appointed to oversee the protocols debate and ratification process in parliament.

Simultaneously with this process, by the order of President Serzh Sargsyan the government drafted and submitted to lawmakers a bill on annulling signed international treaties.

The draft law implies that at any time the signatory party, before the inked treaty comes into effect, is entitled not to become a part of this treaty.

Leader of the opposition Heritage party’s parliamentary faction Stepan Safaryan links this bill with the Armenian-Turkish protocols. At the same time, he expresses his astonishment: “Why is President [Serzh] Sargsyan trying to undo an agreement in connection with which he sees no problems and about which he stated in London?”

Speaking at the Chatham House British Royal Institute of International Affairs in London last week Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said that “as the political leader of the political majority of the Armenian Parliament I rule out any possibility of the Armenian Parliament failing to ratify the protocols in case Turkey ratifies the protocols without preconditions, as agreed.” At the same time he also stressed: “However, if, as many suspect, it is proven that Turkey’s goal is to protract, rather than to normalize relations, we will have to discontinue the process.”

Former parliament speaker and former member of President Sargsyan’s governing Republican Party of Armenia Tigran Torosyan considers that statement by the president a ‘blunder’.

“Regardless of anything, the parliament is an independent body. Moreover, a parliament deputy is free in his [or her] expression, this is a constitutional norm,” says Torosyan.

Safaryan tells ArmeniaNow that if Armenia wants to abort any international treaty or agreement, then it can do so by following the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, which was signed by Armenia and which is stated in the country’s constitution.

“Nevertheless, I consider this step of the president ‘weak blackmail’. Simply they are trying to create an impression abroad that Armenia can reject an international treaty. With such contradictory steps the Armenian leadership puts not only themselves but also Armenia in a bad situation. The president states that there is no problem and Armenia will never be the party that foils [the process], on the other hand he threatens that it will. This is a very serious contradiction,” says the senior Heritage representative.

The coalition forces, meanwhile, have defended the president’s stance on the process and hailed his latest speech in London.

At the same time, senior Republican lawmaker Samvel Nikoyan thinks that Armenia should continue its pro-active policy also at the stage of the protocols ratification.

Nikoyan, a deputy speaker of the Armenian parliament, outlined the three existing options. The first, according to him, is ratification in both parliaments that proceeds simultaneously, the second is Armenia taking its time to make sure this process takes place in the Turkish parliament and the third is Armenia trying to continue its pro-active policy at the stage of protocols ratification as well.