Zurich Protocols

In February 2015, the Armenian part, represented by President Sargsyan, recalled the protocols from parliament, citing the "absence of political will" on the Turkish side.

[3][8] Then, in December 2017 citing lack of any "positive progress towards their implementation" by Turkey, the Armenian side vowed to declare them void and null,[9] which Armenia formally did on 1 March 2018.

[11] Talks during the game focused on bilateral relations and Karabakh, and did not touch upon the Genocide,[12] though Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan raised the issue soon afterward.

Officials in Azerbaijan however responded with concern, prompting heated debate in the Turkish Parliament with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli sharing the Azerbaijani people's "rightful concerns" in warning the government "your approach to Armenia harms our dignity," and Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal asking, "How can we ignore the ongoing occupation of Azerbaijan?

Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Political Director Giro Manoyan responded well to the rapprochement and echoed Babacan in the statement "not only Armenia, but both parties will win if the border is opened" and responded to reminders about the mistreatment of the Turkish flag during commemorations of Armenian Genocide Day the previous year by stating that "I promise that no such thing will take place this time, if we can keep control" before going on to warn "negotiations will be cut if the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan is set as a precondition.

"[18] The International Crisis Group (ICG) issued a report on the normalisation stating that "the politicized debate whether to recognize as genocide the destruction of much of the Ottoman Armenian population and the stalemated Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh should not halt momentum" whilst "the unresolved Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh still risks undermining full adoption and implementation of the potential package deal between Turkey and Armenia", the "bilateral détente with Armenia ultimately could help Baku recover territory better than the current stalemate.

"[21] The Turkish newspaper Radikal confirmed that an intergovernmental conference would be established between Ankara and Yerevan to discuss in detail all the issues "from economy to transportation" agreed on in the "comprehensive framework for normalisation,"[22] whilst Today's Zaman concluded that this cautious approach by Turkish authorities was intended to minimise criticism from Azerbaijan and nationalist Turks who would complain of "submission to Western pressure" but goes on to quote an unnamed Western diplomat who speaking to Reuters confirmed that "all the documents have been agreed in principle" and that "we are talking about weeks or months.

Although Armenian President Sargsyan stated that no concessions had been agreed upon and that the details would be made public, ARF Political Director Giro Manoyan stated that the party considers itself deceived because it was not informed about the agreement in advance and that renunciation of Armenian territorial claims that are reported to be a part of the agreement would be an unacceptably radical change in the country's foreign policy.

[23] Reaction to the announcement within Turkey was more muted with opposition MHP leader Bahçeli complaining that "Armenia knows what is going on; Switzerland knows what is going on; Turkish officials involved in the process know.

[30] Armenian authorities responded to comments made by Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan during his official visit to Baku that "there is a relation of cause and effect here.

"[33] ARF Chairman Armen Rustamian responded by accusing Turkey of "attempting to dictate conditions on the Nagorno-Karabakh resolution process, visibly taking Azerbaijan's side and obscuring the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

[38] Following more than one year of talks the accord between Armenia and Turkey was signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries, Ahmet Davutoğlu and Eduard Nalbandyan on 10 October 2009.

[1][40] The signature ceremony had been delayed for a three-hour lapse when disagreements surfaced at the signing over unidentified "unacceptable formulations", according to Armenia.

[39] The signing of the Protocols envisioning the establishment of diplomatic relations and the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border without any mention of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was received extremely negatively in Azerbaijan.

[2] Soon after the signing of the Protocols, Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoğlu declared that the withdrawal of Armenian forces from Azerbaijani territory continued to be one of Turkey's "primary national issues.

Thirdly and most vitally, it stated that the implementation of the protocols did not imply Armenia's official recognition of the existing Turkish-Armenian border established by the 1921 Treaty of Kars.

By doing so, the Constitutional Court rejected one of the main premises of the protocols, i.e. "the mutual recognition of the existing border between the two countries as defined by relevant treaties of international law".