Abdullah Gul responded
Turkish President Abdulla Gul has welcomed Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's address to speed up the ratification of the Turkey-Armenia Protocols, emphasizing that "terminating the historical process requires the fulfillment of obligations in their entirety".
"Supporting the initiative to normalize relations between our countries, our main objectives are to overcome the deeply-rooted lack of confidence between our neighboring peoples and encouraging mutual confidence and understanding," as stated in the address posted on the Turkish President's official website. "Don't doubt that we lack determination to promote these issues under the condition that that determination and dedication are mutual."
On Monday, Serzh Sargsyan had sent an address to his Turkish counterpart with the call to show "determination and principality" in promoting the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations. He had also said that "when words and actions contradict each other, that leads to lack of confidence and distrust."
In his response, Abdulla Gul said: "I also agree that responsible governance obliges us to stay true to our words and establish them through actions. Thus, we will continue to work toward promoting the normalization of relations by accepting the mutual concord between our countries as a basis."
The Turkish President also emphasized: "We must realize that leading this historical process to the end will demand from us to respect the commitments in their entirety, as well as show necessary political courage and a vision."
