TURKEY EXPECTS PROBLEMS WITH ARMENIA SOLVED IN 2009
Xinhua
Jan 28 2009
China
ANKARA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) — Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said
on Wednesday that he expected the problems between Turkey and Armenia
to be solved in 2009, CNN Turk reported.
"Actually, it would not surprise me if a solution was found this
year. 2009 can be a milestone in Turkish-Armenian relations as long
as both parties maintain their political will till the end," he said.
Also on Wednesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told
a press briefing before departing for Davos to participate in the
World Economic Forum that he might meet with Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan in the near future.
"There are no obstacles that would hinder a meeting with Sargsyan,
we may discuss issues that concern us both," said Erdogan, adding
that Turkey had never favored steps that would cast a shadow on peace.
Turkey severed diplomatic ties with Armenia and closed border with the
landlocked country in 1993 as a sign of solidarity with Azerbaijan,
a Turkic-speaking ally which was fighting Armenian-backed separatists
over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Ankara says the normalization of relations depends on Armenia’s
withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh and an end to Yerevan’s support for
the Armenian diaspora’s efforts to win international recognition for
claims that Armenians were subjected to genocide at the hands of the
Ottoman Empire.
Armenia has claimed that up to 1.5 million Armenians died as a result
of "massacre" during the Turkish Ottoman Period between 1915 and 1923,
but Turkey categorically rejects the accusation.
Last November, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said that
Armenia was ready to launch diplomatic relations and open border
with Turkey without any precondition, describing Turkish President
Gul’s visit to Armenia in September as a good foundation for the
normalization of relations between the two countries.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
