SERGE SARGSYAN: ARMENIA OPEN FOR TALKS WITH TURKEY

armradio.am
01.08.2007 16:01

Armenia’s Prime Minister Serge Sargsyan said in an interview with Al
Jazeera that he is ready to negotiate with Turkey’s new Government
after more then 90 years of severed ties.

"We can’t stay in a situation without having communication and talks
with our neighbor 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 recognized as genocide.The continuing closure of the border has
isolated Armenia, which is a landlocked country, hitting the economy
hard," Al Jazeera reported.

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. That is why PM Serge Sargsyan said he
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 neighbors for a very long time. I think it would be better if
Armenians and Turks come to an understanding."