TURKEY, ARMENIA MATCHES TO GO AHEAD DESPITE DIVISIONS
By Darren Ennis
Reuters, UK
Nov 29 2007
BRUSSELS, Nov 29 (Reuters) – The World Cup qualifying games due to
take place between Turkey and Armenia are expected to go ahead despite
bitter political divisions between the two countries, UEFA president
Michel Platini said on Thursday.
Concerns were expressed about the two fixtures after both countries
— at odds with each other over Turkey’s failure to accept that 1.5
million Armenians suffered genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks —
were drawn in the same qualifying group for the 2010 World Cup
"We met with the associations from Armenia and Turkey and there
weren’t any problems, they said the games would be played the best
possible way," Platini told reporters on a visit to Brussels.
Two Euro 2008 qualifiers between Armenia and Azerbaijan were cancelled
in June due to a long-running dispute over land. Turkey shut its
border with Armenia in 1993 to protest against Armenia’s occupation
of territory inside Azerbaijan.
"We had a problem last year between Armenia and Azerbaijan because
it was worse than non-existing relationships, there was a problem of
extreme tensions and so the executive committee took the decision of
cancelling the two games," Platini said.
Up to 1.5 million Armenians died in massacres and mass expulsions
in 1915. Armenia and the Armenian diaspora abroad — backed by many
Western historians — say it was genocide and want foreign states to
recognise it as such.
Turkey accepts there were widespread killings, but says they did
not amount to genocide. A law in Turkey makes calling the deaths a
genocide a criminal offence.
"But as far as Turkey and Armenia are concerned, there hasn’t been any
indication of a potential problem and the cancellation of matches,"
Platini said.
Both countries were drawn in Group 5 alongside Spain, Belgium, Bosnia
and Estonia.