Zaman, Turkey
April 23 2005

Turkey Awaits Answer from Yerevan, not new Demands
By Zaman
Published: Saturday 23, 2005
zaman.com

Turkey is waiting for Armenia to answer the letter written by Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Having evaluated the request of Armenia “to resume diplomatic
relations”, which echoed in public, Ankara expects “an answer to the
letter, not a new request”.

Diplomatic sources revealed that the negotiations between Ankara and
Yerevan are conducted not secretly but openly in the frame of North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Turkey, who wishes to normalize
relations with Armenia, notes that Yerevan’s attitude is contrary to
international laws as well asUnited Nations (UN) Security Council
resolutions and that this Armenian stance blocks diplomatic
relations. Despite the handicaps in Ankara-Yerevan line, Turkey has
allowed charter flights between the two countries for some time. The
request of a special airline corporation to start flights between
Yerevan and Antalya has also reached Turkey.