Zaman Online, Turkey
March 18 2006

Ankara Refuses US Call to Open Armenian Border
By Suleyman Kurt, Ankara
Published: Saturday, March 18, 2006
zaman.com

The Turkish government responded negatively once again to a demand
from the United States to open the Armenian border.

An envoy from the United States brought the Mountainous Karabag
(Karabagh) region to the agenda in search of a resolution as they asked
the Turkish government to reevaluate the Armenian border. On Thursday,
Turkish foreign ministry officials met with Assistant Secretary of
States Daniel Friend of the United States as well as with Ambassador
Steven Mann, a United States negotiator assigned to find a resolution
to the Mountainous Karabagh question.

Fried addressed the demand to open the Armenian border, according
to reporters. Ankara, however, acted unenthusiastically to the issue
at hand. Turkish officials classified the Armenian cessation of its
invasion of the Karabagh region as one of the three requirements for
the appeasement of relations between Turkey and Armenia. Turkey is
also pushing Armenia to disavow its allegations of genocide and to
remove from the Armenian constitution the anti-Turkish clauses.

Another topic at the meeting was the demand to ease the administration
in North Cyprus off economic isolation. The United States envoy
preferred to give priority to diplomacy in handling with Iran,
reporters said, although the US administration reserves the possibility
of a military operation as well.