Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Jan 13 2005

Armenia wants to forge ties with Turkey without pre-conditions

Armenia supports forging ties with Turkey without any pre-conditions,
Armenian foreign minister Vardan Oskanian told journalists on
Wednesday.
`Despite this position of Armenia, Turkey continues to link the issue
of opening the Armenia-Turkey border and eliminating the existing
differences with a number of unacceptable terms.’
Oskanian said that no changes have been observed in the
Armenia-Turkey relations in 2004 due to the non-constructive position
of Turkey. However, he noted that last year he met with his Turkish
counterpart Abdullah Gul in Istanbul and New York to discuss the
political situation in the region and the world. Moreover, foreign
ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey met as part of the NATO
summit in Istanbul, he added.*