By Ivan Watson and Yesim Comert
Moscow, Russia (CNN) -- -- The ruling coalition of political parties in Armenia's parliament has called for suspending talks aimed at normalizing relations with Turkey, Armenia's southern neighbor and long-time adversary.
The decision marks a setback to a U.S., European and Russian-supported peace process aimed at reopening the border between Armenia and Turkey and the establishment of embassies in both countries' capitals.
In a statement published on Thursday, Armenia's parliamentary coalition accused Turkey of failing to ratify internationally agreed peace protocols before an agreed deadline.
The protocols were signed by the foreign ministers from Armenia and Turkey last October, under the watchful eyes of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a ceremony that was nearly canceled because of a dispute between the Turks and the Armenians.
Armenian President Serge Sarkisian has since made a visit to Turkey to attend a football match between the two countries, but critics say there has been little movement since then toward ratifying the protocols before parliament.
The parliamentary coalition says the Turkish side's stance is "unacceptable," particularly statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan making ratification of peace protocols "directly dependent upon the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in Azerbaijan".
There has been tension and conflict between Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, who are supported by the Armenian government, and Azerbaijan, which has strong ties to Turkey.
The Turkish government says is still formulating a response to the Armenian parliamentary decision.
"We are evaluating the statement, its contents and what it means. Our foreign minister is having meetings with the ministry officials," Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin told CNN.
Thursday's announcement comes just two days before Armenians around the world will commemorate the 1915 massacre of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Armenians in Ottoman Turkey.
Turkey officially denies a genocide took place in the last days of the crumbling Ottoman Empire.
Sarkisian, is expected to give a speech addressing the struggling Turkish-Armenian peace process later on Thursday.
CNN
