page_title: Zurich Protocols
hierarchical_section_title: Zurich Protocols
caption_attribution_description: English: Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Armenia signing the protocols on 10 October 2009, Zurich, Switzerland
context_page_description: The Zurich Protocols refer to two bilateral protocols signed in 2009 by Armenia and Turkey that envisioned starting the process of normalizing relations between the two countries.
  The agreement, later proved to be ineffectual, had been brokered by the United States, Russia and France.
  On 10 October 2009, the foreign ministers, Ahmet Davutoğlu for Turkey and Eduard Nalbandyan for Armenia, signed in Zurich the two protocols in a ceremony attended also by then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner and Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov.
  The Protocols required ratification from parliaments of both countries. In an effort to de-link issues, the protocols did not mention the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. They also did not include a deadline for ratification.
  On 12 January 2010, the Constitutional Court of Armenia stated preconditions and restrictive provisions on the Protocols. This was for the Turkish Government the reason to back down from the Protocols.
context_section_description: The Zurich Protocols refer to two bilateral protocols signed in 2009 by Armenia and Turkey that envisioned starting the process of normalizing relations between the two countries.
  The agreement, later proved to be ineffectual, had been brokered by the United States, Russia and France.
  On 10 October 2009, the foreign ministers, Ahmet Davutoğlu for Turkey and Eduard Nalbandyan for Armenia, signed in Zurich the two protocols in a ceremony attended also by then U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, EU High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Bernard Kouchner and Foreign Minister of Russia Sergey Lavrov.
  The Protocols required ratification from parliaments of both countries. In an effort to de-link issues, the protocols did not mention the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh. They also did not include a deadline for ratification.
  On 12 January 2010, the Constitutional Court of Armenia stated preconditions and restrictive provisions on the Protocols. This was for the Turkish Government the reason to back down from the Protocols.
  The protocols faced immense criticism in both countries, with some Armenians accusing their government of selling out and some in Turkey upset that the protocols did not refer to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Thus, the Protocols languished since signature in both nations' parliaments without ratification.
  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. 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, which Armenia formally did on 1 March 2018.
  Despite the bitterness resulting from the stalling of the normalization process, some authors think that the Zurich Protocols could still represent a way forward for the Armenia-Turkey normalization process.
caption: Nalbandyan and Davutoglu signing the accord
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