FACTBOX-Five facts about Turkish-Armenian ties

Reuters
July 16 2010

FACTBOX-Five facts about Turkish-Armenian ties

July 16 (Reuters) – Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia remain
bitterly divided over their troubled history and their border is
closed despite peace accords signed last year.
In a gesture to help heal wounds, Turkey will open a 10th century
Armenian church in eastern Turkey on Sept. 19 for a one-day religious
service that could become an annual event.

Here are some facts about Turkish-Armenian history and ties:

* The Church of the Holy Cross was built between 915 and 921 A.D.,
during the reign of Gagik I of the Armenian kingdom of Vaspurakan; it
is regarded as one of the finest architectural examples of the once
thriving Armenian civilisation in Turkey; there were some 2,000
Armenian Christian churches in Turkey, but only 45 are left standing
today following the turmoil that accompanied the final days of the
Ottoman Empire.

* Armenia, backed by many historians, says some 1.5 million Armenians
were killed during World War I in what amounted to genocide at the
hands of Ottoman Turks; Ankara rejects the genocide label and says
large numbers of both Armenians and Turks died; some 70,000 or so
Armenian Christians live in Turkey, mostly in Istanbul; in the late
19th century, the Ottoman Empire’s Armenian minority numbered some 2
million.

* Brokered by the United States, Russia and the European Union, Turkey
and Armenia signed accords in 2009 to establish diplomatic ties and
open one of Europe’s last closed borders; Ankara and Yerevan have
accused each other of trying to re-write the texts; in April Yerevan
froze ratification of the accord after months of deadlock from both
sides.

* The conflict of Nagorno-Karabakh between Azerbaijan and Armenia has
loomed over attempts to end the hostility; Turkey demands that ethnic
Armenian forces pull back from the frontlines of Nagorno-Karabakh as a
condition for ratifying the deal; Ankara’s condition is aimed at
placating Muslim ally Azerbaijan, an oil and gas exporter which lost
control over Nagorno-Karabakh as the Soviet Union collapsed.

* The rift between Turkey and Armenia has poisoned ties between Ankara
and its close ally the United States; Turkey briefly withdrew its
ambassador to Washington in protest earlier this year after a U.S.
House committee approved a non-binding resolution labelling the 1915
events as genocide; in a visit to both countries earlier this month,
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it was a U.S. priority to
help Armenia and Azerbaijan settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to
bring stability to the Caucasus.

From: A. Papazian