Turkey Edges Towards Armenia Ties

Posted 04-29-2005

(BBC) — Turkey has said it is ready to build “political” relations
with Armenia while experts investigate Yerevan’s claims of a World War
I “genocide”.

Turkey does not have diplomatic ties with neighbouring Armenia, amid a
row over the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915-1917.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said “political relations
could be established” during joint studies.

Armenia has cautiously welcomed the offer of a joint investigation.

On Tuesday, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan said he was ready to
accept Mr Erdogan’s proposal for a joint commission to probe the
killings – but demanded a normalisation of relations first.

Mr Erdogan told Turkey’s Milliyet newspaper that the establishment of
formal diplomatic relations would depend on Armenia showing
“sincerity” towards undertaking a joint investigation.

Turkey shut its border with Armenia in 1993, angry at the Armenian
separatist

forces fighting for independence from Azerbaijan in the disputed
territory of

Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia alleges that the Young Turks, the dominant party in the
Ottoman Empire in 1915, systematically arranged the deportation and
killing of 1.5 million Armenians.

Turkey says up to 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died
during civil strife in eastern Turkey during World War I, but angrily
rejects the allegation of a planned “genocide” of Armenians.

Some EU politicians want Turkey to recognise the killings as
“genocide” before Ankara is allowed to open talks on EU accession.