XINHUA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE
Senior Turkish diplomat in Armenia for talks
April 7, 2010 Wednesday 5:55 AM EST
Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu is expected
to hold talks in the Armenian capital of Yerevan as the special envoy
for the Turkish prime minister, the semi-official Anatolia news agency
reported on Wednesday.
Sinirlioglu, who began his official visit in Armenia, is set to meet
with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan and Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian to discuss difficulties regarding two protocols Turkey and
Armenia had signed as well as details of a possible meeting between
Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Sargsyan, according to
the report.
Turkey and Armenia signed the two protocols on Oct. 10, 2009, to
resume diplomatic relations and open a border crossing.
After years of no diplomatic contacts, Turkish President Abdullah
Gul travelled to Yerevan to watch a soccer game between Turkish and
Armenian teams in September 2008. The Armenian president came to
Turkey to watch the return game in 2009.
Turkey and Armenia have seen tensions rise after a U.S. congressional
panel and the Swedish parliament passed in March nonbinding resolutions
which recognize the killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces during
the World War I as genocide, drawing ire from Ankara.
On Tuesday, Turkish ambassador to the United States Namik Tan, who had
come back home following the row, left for the United States, saying
"our interlocutors understood the message we wanted to give. We have
received satisfactory answers. It is time to return to my office."
Armenians claim that more than 1.5 million Armenians were killed
in a systematic genocide during the World War I, but the Turkish
government insists that the Armenians were victims of widespread
chaos and governmental breakdown as the Ottoman empire collapsed
before modern Turkey was created in 1923.
The two countries signed protocols to normalize relations last
October but the protocols needed to be ratified by the two countries’
parliaments before taking effect. Turkish authorities have warned
that the row over the "genocide" claims could hamper the normalization
process.