YEREVAN, DECEMBER 21, ARMENPRESS. The statement of Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu according to which the Armenian-Turkish Protocols were signed with certain preconditions is an absolute lie, Armenian foreign ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan said in response to ARMENPRESS inquiry.

-Mr. Balayan, how would you comment on the Turkish foreign minister’s statement according to which the Armenian-Turkish Protocols were signed with certain preconditions?

-The Turkish foreign minister is just lying. If we move forward with the same logic, we can state that during the talks of the Protocols Turkey promised to recognize Artsakh’s independence. Let us once again remind that the negotiations launched in 2008 by the mutual agreement with the Turkish side according to which the process cannot have any precondition. The negotiations continued based on this agreement and the Zurich Protocols were signed. The absence of preconditions has been repeatedly announced by different capitals well-aware of the process.