Mayors of Armenian border villages speak out on the protocols: Ruben Karapetyan, Mayor of the Araks village in Armavir Marz, expressed complete opposition to the signing. He said that while he favored an open border with Turkey, he was opposed to the preconditions that Ankara included in the document.

Today, in the Swiss city of Zurich, the protocol document designed to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations is scheduled to be signed at approximately 8 p.m. Yerevan local time. We went to some border towns to gauge the reaction of local community leaders regarding the signing.  He argues that implicit in the document were points that hindered the international recognition of the 1915 Genocide and that could adversely affect the situation in Artsakh. "Today, we are not ready to open the border under any standards. In addition, the protocols contain preconditions. For example, the commission of historians, which call into question the reality of the Genocide," Mayor Karapetyan noted. The mayor noted that he was a descendant of Genocide survivors and that he came from Syria. "I have many friends that weren't born in Armenia. There are many others that weren't born here as well. This only goes to prove what happened to Armenians all those years ago and that there is no need to set up a commission of historians. I will only shake the hand of a Turk when they recognize the Genocide." When we asked Mayor Karapetyan if the opening of the border wouldn't be of economic benefit to Armenia, he replied that last year local villagers threw away 500 tons of onions. "And do you know why? Because onions were being imported from Turkey. That happened with closed borders. What do you think will happen if the border is opened?" he asked with a degree of concern. He stated that various superpowers had pressed for the border opening. Another Armavir village, Bagaran, lies a mere 100 meters from the Turkish village of Elinjan over the border. Bagaran Mayor Gevorg Margaryan said that the uninitiated visitor to his village couldn't make out if it was a Turkish or Armenia one since the houses look the same. Mayor Margaryan stated that he was all for the opening of the border since there was no alternative to resolving disagreements between the two peoples. "In the end, we are neighboring countries. How long can we go on having closed borders? We can establish economic relations with the Turks and come out the beneficiaries," he argued. He also argued that Turkish products weren't a threat to the Armenian economy and that the market would sort things out. Mayor Edik Manoukyan of the village of Janfeda stated that as an Armenian he was opposed to the opening of the border since "a Turk remains a Turk", but that he was for the opening merely due to economic reasons. "Given the desperate socio-economic conditions of our villagers, we must open the border. I only support establishing economic relations with Turkey. We can perceive of the border opening in several ways but I only support the economic path," he stated. Mayor Manoukyan also agreed with the opinion that the protocols and the border opening were the work of the superpowers. "This isn't the initiative of either Turkey or Armenia," he declared.