ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN TURKEY
By Murad Sezer
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
Nov 24 2008
Austria
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) – The Armenian foreign minister urged Turkey on
Monday to reopen their countries’ common border, saying there were
no real obstacles to improving relations that have suffered amid a
dispute over of WWI-era killings.
Edward Nalbandian said bettering Turkish-Armenian ties would boost
regional peace and stability.
"Relations should be improved without any preconditions," he told
a news conference in Istanbul. "I think reopening the border is
also among Turkey’s priorities; it is important for both countries’
interests.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations, and have faced off
over Armenian demands that the WWI-era deaths of 1.5 million ethnic
Armenians should be recognized as genocide. Turkey says the death
toll is inflated and the deaths resulted from civil unrest during
the Ottoman Empire’s collapse.
The countries’ shared border has been closed since 1993, when Turkey
protested Armenia’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey backs
Azerbaijan’s claims to the disputed region, which has a high number of
ethnic Armenian residents but is located within Azerbaijan’s borders.
In recent months, Turkey and Armenia have taken steps to repair their
relationship. In September, President Abdullah Gul became the first
Turkish leader to visit Armenia, where he and Armenian President
Serge Sarkisian watched their countries’ soccer teams play a World
Cup qualifying match.
Turkey and Armenia are both pushing for the establishment of a
regional cooperation group to stabilize the Caucasus, and possibly
to help solve the Armenian-Azerbaijani dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nalbandian planned to meet Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan during
his trip to Istanbul, where he was visiting the headquarters of the
Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation.
Nalbandian _ chairman of the regional group for the next six months _
urged his Black Sea neighbors to cooperate more on transportation
and energy issues in order to minimize the regional impact of the
global economic slowdown. He said building a highway linking Black
Sea countries was a priority.