More articles on Armenia-Turkey relations
ARMENIA, TURKEY WILL GAIN FROM BILATERAL RELATIONS - PRESIDENT
Interfax News Agency
July 21 2008
Russia
Contacts between Armenia and Turkey never ceased, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told a press conference on Monday."Contacts between Armenian and Turkish diplomatic circles never ceased and there is nothing sensational about Armenian and Turkish representatives meeting
in Bern," he said.
"Both Armenia and Turkey will gain from established relations.
Certainly, in both countries there are people who think the opposite but this does not mean that we must sit idly by," Sargsyan said.
"The Turkish president's visit to Armenia may have a positive effect on the discussion of the existing issues between our countries.
It is very important that there is an emerging trend among the Armenian and Turkish public toward healthy discussion of the existing problems," said the Armenian president.
Asked how long he is willing to wait for the Turkish president's reply to the invitation to visit Yerevan, Sargsyan said: "When it comes to a neighboring country, one does not speak about deadlines, one has to wait as long as it takes."
There are still no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey.
The 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire remain a stumbling block in the relations between the two countries. A number of nations recognized the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Turkey in 1915, which claimed more than 1.5 million lives. Armenia wants Turkey to recognize the
genocide, but Turkey refuses to do so.
For its part, Ankara demands that the Karabakh conflict be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.
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ARMENIAN PRESIDENT DETECTS THAW WITH TURKEY
Agence France Presse -- English
July 21, 2008 Monday 12:32 PM GMT
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said Monday he detected a thaw in relations with Turkey, confirming that diplomats from the two neighbours had held meetings in Switzerland.
Sarkisian earlier this month invited Gul to watch a football World Cup qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia in Yerevan in September. Gul, who has also said he wants greater cooperation, has yet to reply.
"A readiness to begin healthy discussions on existing problems in Armenia-Turkey relations has appeared," Sarkisian told journalists in Yerevan.
"A visit by Gul to Armenia could transform these tendencies into a stable and positive movement," he said.
Ankara has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia since its independence in 1991 because of Armenian efforts to secure international recognition of Armenian massacres under the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
Sarkisian's latest comments came after diplomats from the two countries, which have no formal diplomatic relations, met in Switzerland this month to discuss normalising ties.
Turkish media reported that the talks were held in secret and marked an important step in reconciling the two sides.
But, like Turkish officials, Sarkisian downplayed the significance of the talks.
"There was no secret or reason to be surprised. Such contacts between Armenian and Turkish diplomats never stopped. They have always taken place," he said.
In 1993, Turkey shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity with its close ally Azerbaijan, then at war with Armenia, dealing a heavy economic blow to the impoverished ex-Soviet nation.
Interfax News Agency
July 21 2008
Russia
Contacts between Armenia and Turkey never ceased, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan told a press conference on Monday."Contacts between Armenian and Turkish diplomatic circles never ceased and there is nothing sensational about Armenian and Turkish representatives meeting
in Bern," he said.
"Both Armenia and Turkey will gain from established relations.
Certainly, in both countries there are people who think the opposite but this does not mean that we must sit idly by," Sargsyan said.
"The Turkish president's visit to Armenia may have a positive effect on the discussion of the existing issues between our countries.
It is very important that there is an emerging trend among the Armenian and Turkish public toward healthy discussion of the existing problems," said the Armenian president.
Asked how long he is willing to wait for the Turkish president's reply to the invitation to visit Yerevan, Sargsyan said: "When it comes to a neighboring country, one does not speak about deadlines, one has to wait as long as it takes."
There are still no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey.
The 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire remain a stumbling block in the relations between the two countries. A number of nations recognized the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Turkey in 1915, which claimed more than 1.5 million lives. Armenia wants Turkey to recognize the
genocide, but Turkey refuses to do so.
For its part, Ankara demands that the Karabakh conflict be resolved on the basis of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.
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ARMENIAN PRESIDENT DETECTS THAW WITH TURKEY
Agence France Presse -- English
July 21, 2008 Monday 12:32 PM GMT
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said Monday he detected a thaw in relations with Turkey, confirming that diplomats from the two neighbours had held meetings in Switzerland.
Sarkisian earlier this month invited Gul to watch a football World Cup qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia in Yerevan in September. Gul, who has also said he wants greater cooperation, has yet to reply.
"A readiness to begin healthy discussions on existing problems in Armenia-Turkey relations has appeared," Sarkisian told journalists in Yerevan.
"A visit by Gul to Armenia could transform these tendencies into a stable and positive movement," he said.
Ankara has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia since its independence in 1991 because of Armenian efforts to secure international recognition of Armenian massacres under the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
Sarkisian's latest comments came after diplomats from the two countries, which have no formal diplomatic relations, met in Switzerland this month to discuss normalising ties.
Turkish media reported that the talks were held in secret and marked an important step in reconciling the two sides.
But, like Turkish officials, Sarkisian downplayed the significance of the talks.
"There was no secret or reason to be surprised. Such contacts between Armenian and Turkish diplomats never stopped. They have always taken place," he said.
In 1993, Turkey shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity with its close ally Azerbaijan, then at war with Armenia, dealing a heavy economic blow to the impoverished ex-Soviet nation.
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MORE DETAILS ON ARMENIA-TURKEY SECRET CONTACTS REVEALED
AZG Armenian Daily
23/07/2008
On July 18 "Hurriet" newspaper stated without any details that Armenia-Turkey secrtet talks have started in Bern, Switrzerland. Later the fact was confirmed.
Nevertheless is most interesting are neither the responses nor the confirmation. The most interesting are the details of the meeting.
Some details were provided by the Turkish New York website (turkishny.com). This is what they write, "the friendly gestures of Serge Sarkisian encouraged Turkey, which has had unofficial contacts with Armenia for almost 10 years. It turns out that Foreign Ministry Councilor Rtugrul Apakan and his assistant on Caucasus and Central Asia Unal Zevikoz had two series of meetings with the Armenian delegates in May and July.
Although Ali Babacan confessed time to time contacts between Armenia and Turkey, he refused to provide any details. According to information received, Ankara is aware of Azerbaijan's opposition in case Armenia-Turkey contacts become public.
As far as Turkish Daily News came to know, Apakan's and Zevikoz's meetings with the Armenians in Bern were successful in sense of coming to agreement on the strategy and methods of resolving the present problems.
It also came out that instead of discussing the establishment of one commission, the Armenian and Turkish sides discussed the opportunity of founding four joint commissions, one for the borders, the Genocide, reparations and Karabakh respectively.
Previous President of Armenia Robert Kocharian denied Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposal to establish a commission of Armenian and Turkish historians to study the 1915 events. Kocharian insisted that an intergovernmental, not scientific commission must be established. This time, according to diplomatic sources, measures are taken to meet the requirements of both the sides.
Most attention during Apakan's and Zevikoz's meetings was paid to the question of opening the Turkish-Armenian border. It is a long time since the EU and the USA have started persuading Ankara that opeing the border with Armenia is the best way to weaken Armenia's positions on the Genocide".
In the end turkishny.com mentions Serge Sarkisian's invitation of Abdullah Gul to Armenia on September 6 and says about the possibility of having the third round of talks this year before the possible meeting in Yerevan.
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MORE DETAILS ON ARMENIA-TURKEY SECRET CONTACTS REVEALED
AZG Armenian Daily
23/07/2008
On July 18 "Hurriet" newspaper stated without any details that Armenia-Turkey secrtet talks have started in Bern, Switrzerland. Later the fact was confirmed.
Nevertheless is most interesting are neither the responses nor the confirmation. The most interesting are the details of the meeting.
Some details were provided by the Turkish New York website (turkishny.com). This is what they write, "the friendly gestures of Serge Sarkisian encouraged Turkey, which has had unofficial contacts with Armenia for almost 10 years. It turns out that Foreign Ministry Councilor Rtugrul Apakan and his assistant on Caucasus and Central Asia Unal Zevikoz had two series of meetings with the Armenian delegates in May and July.
Although Ali Babacan confessed time to time contacts between Armenia and Turkey, he refused to provide any details. According to information received, Ankara is aware of Azerbaijan's opposition in case Armenia-Turkey contacts become public.
As far as Turkish Daily News came to know, Apakan's and Zevikoz's meetings with the Armenians in Bern were successful in sense of coming to agreement on the strategy and methods of resolving the present problems.
It also came out that instead of discussing the establishment of one commission, the Armenian and Turkish sides discussed the opportunity of founding four joint commissions, one for the borders, the Genocide, reparations and Karabakh respectively.
Previous President of Armenia Robert Kocharian denied Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposal to establish a commission of Armenian and Turkish historians to study the 1915 events. Kocharian insisted that an intergovernmental, not scientific commission must be established. This time, according to diplomatic sources, measures are taken to meet the requirements of both the sides.
Most attention during Apakan's and Zevikoz's meetings was paid to the question of opening the Turkish-Armenian border. It is a long time since the EU and the USA have started persuading Ankara that opeing the border with Armenia is the best way to weaken Armenia's positions on the Genocide".
In the end turkishny.com mentions Serge Sarkisian's invitation of Abdullah Gul to Armenia on September 6 and says about the possibility of having the third round of talks this year before the possible meeting in Yerevan.
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