Zaman, Turkey
April 20 2004

Turkey-Armenia Border to Remain Closed

Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on Sunday
dispelled rumors that Turkey would reopen its border with Armenia
without first ensuring that the Nargorno-Karabag (Karabakh) conflict
was resolved. “Such a thing is not the issue. For some reason, this
is spoken about a great deal in Azerbaijan. Whenever we come across
Azeri reporters they ask us this question,” defended Gul. The
Karabakh issue remains deeply divisive for the countries of Armenia
and Azerbaijan. Gul disclosed that in the upcoming months a
tripartite meeting between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey would be
held to discuss the issue. Gul said that this meeting would happen
prior to the June North Atlantic Treat Organization (NATO) summit in
Istanbul. He added that Armenia would participate in the Summit
within the context of Caucasian countries that have relations with
NATO.

04.20.2004
Foreign News Services
Istanbul