Agence France Presse — English
February 21, 2008 Thursday 11:42 AM GMT
Turkey urges new Armenian president to work to heal ties
ANKARA, Feb 21 2008
Turkish President Abdullah Gul called on Armenia’s president-elect
Thursday to help normalise bilateral ties poisoned by a dispute over
the World War I Ottoman massacres of Armenians.
"I sincerely hope that our joint efforts will create an atmosphere
based on stability, mutual trust and cooperation, Gul said in a
message of congratulations to Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian, who won
Tuesday’s presidential elections.
"I hope your new duty will provide the necessary atmosphere for
normalising ties between the Turkish and Armenian peoples who have
proved for centuries that they can live side by side in peace and
harmony," Gul added.
The mass killings of Armenians in the final years of the Ottoman
Empire, modern Turkey’s predecessor, constitute one of the most
painful episodes in Turkish history and a major obstacle to
normalising ties between Ankara and Yerevan.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen died between 1915
and 1917 in deportations and systematic killings that they want
recognised as an act of genocide.
Turkey rejects the label and argues that 300,000 Armenians and at
least as many Turks died in civil strife when Armenians took up arms
for independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with invading Russian
troops.
Although Turkey recognized Armenia when it gained independence from
the Soviet Union in 1991, it refuses to establish diplomatic
relations.
In 1993, Turkey sealed the common border in solidarity with its close
ally Azerbaijan in its conflict with Armenia over the enclave of
Nagorny-Karabakh.
Analysts say Sarkisian will follow the policies of outgoing President
Robert Kocharian — who handpicked him for the post — and pursue
close ties with Moscow and a hawkish stance in relations with
Azerbaijan and Turkey.