Peace plan on hold

Armenia's coalition government said on Thursday that the ratification of a peace accord signed with neighbor Turkey had been suspended.

The decision is a blow to efforts to normalize relations between the two countries, overcoming the legacy of mass killings by Ottoman Turks during World War One.

Armenia and Turkey signed the accord in October 2009 to pave the way for the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of land borders.

However, diplomatic relations have become increasingly strained, with each side accusing the other of setting new conditions to accept the measures.

The Armenian coalition put the blame for the latest delay on Turkish demands that Armenia should come to a deal with neighboring Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A close ally

Azerbaijan is a close ally of Turkey, but Armenia rejects any link between the territorial dispute and peace with Turkey.

"The Turkish side's refusal to fulfil the requirement to ratify the accord without preconditions in a reasonable time has made the continuation of the ratification process in the national parliament pointless," a statement said.

"We consider it necessary to suspend this process until Turkey is ready to continue the process without preconditions."

Armenian President Serge Sarkisian said that the decision was taken in his country's national interests.

Turkey calls for 'regional peace'

Following the Armenian decision, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he was committed to the peace process. However, he added that achieving a wider regional peace was important.

"We have expressed on several occasions our commitment to the letter and spirit of the protocols and the target of putting them into practice," Erdogan said.

"We have also explained on several occasions... how the ratification process can be advanced and how we can achieve the target of comprehensive peace in the region. Our determination remains unchanged."

Turkey sealed its border with Armenia in 1993 as a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.

It is expected that any deal would bring great economic benefits to landlocked, Christian Armenia. The advantages for Turkey would be diplomatic, boosting the country's status as a prospective member of the European Union and enhancing its influence in the South Caucasus region.

Muslim Turkey accepts that many Christian Armenians died in partisan fighting, starting in 1915. However, it denies that up to 1.5 million were slaughtered and does not accept that the killings amounted to genocide.

rc/Reuters/AFP/dpa

Editor: Susan Houlton