TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER BABACAN TELLS OSKANIAN TURKEY OPEN TO DIALOGUE

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Oct 4 2007

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan met on Tuesday with his Armenian
counterpart, Vartan Oskanian, in the first meeting between the two
ministers since Babacan was appointed to his post after the Turkish
general elections held on July 22.

The meeting at UN headquarters in New York was held at the request
of Armenia and was mostly a "greeting" aimed at the two ministers
getting to know each other, the Anatolia news agency reported. The
general atmosphere was positive, and Babacan’s message to his Armenian
counterpart was that Turkey is open to dialogue with Armenia on
disputed issues.

The meeting came as the US House of Representatives’ Committee on
Foreign Affairs prepares to debate and vote on a resolution next week
declaring that Armenians were subject to genocide at the hands of the
Ottoman Turks in the beginning of the last century. Babacan said at
the meeting that history could not be written by votes of politicians
in parliaments and brought to mind a proposal Turkey made to Armenia in
2005 for joint study of that portion of history. The Armenian minister,
for his part, reiterated Armenia’s request for the opening of its
border gate with Turkey, which has been closed for more than a decade.

Armenian Constitution does not recognise Turkey’s territorial
integrity and borders. Armenia also fully supports any anti-Turkish
bill or attempt all around the world. In addition about 20 percent
of Azerbaijan has been under Armenian occupation.