ARMENIAN FM: NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN ARMENIA AND TURKEY WERE HELD BEFORE ERDOGAN WROTE TO KOCHARYAN

Regnum, Russia
June 8 2006

Negotiations and meetings between Armenian and Turkish diplomats have
always taken place, at a higher or at a lower level, Armenian Foreign
Minister Vardan Oskanyan told journalists on June 8.

“However, recently allegations have appeared in the Turkish press
that the talks between the two states were initiated by the letter of
the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan. This is not true, meetings were held before that,”
Oskanian said.

Turkish sources claim that Erdogan’s letter was followed by three
privy meetings between Turkish and Armenian diplomats. The last of the
meetings, i. e. the third round of negotiations, was held in March
in the margins of the summit of the three European Union countries
in Vienna. Head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry Abdullah Gul took
personal part in the talks.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress