Al Jazeera: Armenia open to talks with Turkey
July 31, 2007
Armenia’s prime minister says he is ready to negotiate with Turkey’s new
government after more then 90 years of severed ties.
Serzh Sargsyan told Al Jazeera on Tuesday: "We can’t stay in a situation
without having communication and talks with our neighbour because the
easiest way of resolving this issue is dialogue and negotiations."
A row over the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during the
first world war is at the heart of the issue.
Turkey says they were casualties of war, but the people of Armenia want what
happened to be recognised as genocide.
The continuing closure of the border has isolated Armenia, which is a
landlocked country, hitting the economy hard.
*Isolation*
In Armenia’s border villages, people are isolated for most of the winter,
and are forced to live off the land.
The village leader told Al Jazeera there was nothing there: no jobs, all the
young people have left the village to go to find work, and they are
completely dependent on the harvest.
He said people had adapted to life behind a fence: "The border has always
been closed there has never been any communication. I think it would be very
nice if there was communication and interaction between us and the people
across the border."
Local farmers can cross the Armenia-Turkey border but they need special
permission in order to give water to their cattle.
In the village, no one can remember a time when the border was ever open.
*Change*
Armenia has only two out of four borders open.
It has stopped the economy from moving forward hundreds of millions of
dollars of trade are lost every year. It is no surprise that Sargsyan wants
change.
He had this message for Turkey’s newly elected government: "We didn’t choose
the location of where we live and whatever happens we will have to be
neighbours for a very long time. I think it would be better if Armenians and
Turks come to an understanding."
Sargsyan may be willing to talk but the country still has a long way to go
if wants to return to the days of the great Silk Road, when Armenia
connected east with west.
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