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On February 17 the Chairman of NA Standing Committee on Foreign Relations Armen Rustamyan received the first secretary of the Embassy of Japan to the Republic of Armenia Obata Masataka.

Mr. Masataka was interested in the regulation of the Armenian-Turkish relations, the process of ratification of the Armenian-Turkish protocols signed in Zurich.

Welcoming the guest, Armen Rustamyan expressed willingness of cooperation and hoped that such meetings will promote the improvement of the Armenian-Japanese inter-parliamentary relations. Mr. Rustamyan said that the Armenian-Turkish protocols had been put into circulation in the parliament by the NA Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan for the discussion of which the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations had been appointed as a head Committee. In this context Armen Rustamyan informed the Ambassador about the process of ratification of the treaties in the Armenian Parliament. He said that the Committee led by him organized parliamentary hearings on the Armenian-Turkish relations and Initiated  protocols on October 1, 2009. It was noted that stemming from the political and public sounding of the issue, expanded discussions will again be organized, and its format will be specified later. As a representative of an opposition party Mr. Rustamyan expressed concern on the formulations in the signed document, noting that the ARF would be for the ratification of the protocols, if certain specifications were made. In his conviction the protocols exclusively should be inclined to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey and opening of the border.

At the meeting the sides discussed other issues concerning the NK problem and the Armenian-Turkish relations.