Our previous question was – how do you assess the Armenia-Turkey protocols?
Approximately 70 percent of respondents were negative in their assessment, 26 percent positive, and two percent had no opinion. We don’t pretend that these polls are sociologically accurate. But we do believe they reflect the public’s and our oft-stated concerns about the preconditions which have been included in those protocols and which are unacceptable for the Armenian side. Other publicized, sociological surveys have produced similar results.
Concerns or outright opposition to these protocols should not be viewed as opposition to improved relations or open borders between Armenia and Turkey. Normalization between neighbors is the only normal way to coexist.
However, these protocols don’t take us to normal. They display no readiness to let history be. It lacks the courage to acknowledge the past and move forward. The protocol’s call for “an impartial scientific examination” under government auspices is an invitation to formalize the acrimony.
The unusual expectation about ‘recognizing existing borders’ is also no way to begin a normal relationship, especially after two provisions which assure a respect for each other’s territorial integrity. Finally, the daily pronouncements of top Turkish leaders confirm fears.
In conclusion then, as Turkish President Abdullah Gul said to a French journalist who asked whether questions about the facts and veracity of the Armenian Genocide were not already on the record, “No, of course.” So, our readers and we, too, believe the correct response is, “No, of course,” to the protocols in their current form.
Our previous question was – how do you assess the Armenia-Turkey protocols?
Approximately 70 percent of respondents were negative in their assessment, 26 percent positive, and two percent had no opinion. We don’t pretend that these polls are sociologically accurate. But we do believe they reflect the public’s and our oft-stated concerns about the preconditions which have been included in those protocols and which are unacceptable for the Armenian side. Other publicized, sociological surveys have produced similar results.
Council on International Relations 
