TURKEY-ARMENIA EXCHANGE LETTERS AS SARKSYAN BEGINS HIS TERM IN OFFICE

Hurriyet, Turkey
April 28 2008

Armenia’s new prime minister welcomed on Sunday the good will
congratulatory message of his Turkish counterpart, saying Yerevan is
ready to start dialogue with Turkey on improving relations but repeated
its view that talks should not have any preconditions. Turkey’s Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan expressed his hope that with the election of
Tigran Sarkisyan Turkish-Armenian relations "will enter a new period,
which would contribute to peace, stability and welfare in the region,"
Yerevan-based Mediamax agency reported. Armenia was ready to start
dialogue with Turkey on improving relations if Ankara does not set
preconditions to talks, Sarksyan wrote in his response letter.

The letter exchange between the two countries’ prime ministers came
after Turkish people and the government showed strong reaction to the
Armenian provocation during a so-called "genocide" commemoration last
week. In the official ceremonies, Armenians walked over and burnt
the Turkish flag. A deputy chairman of the ruling AKP said Armenia
"should apologize" for the incidents.

Last week Turkey’s foreign minister said he had sent Armenia a letter
calling for dialogue. Turkey’s calls for dialogue or proposal to
form a committee to investigate the so-called "genocide" clams have
continually received a cold response from Yerevan.

However some think the recent letter exchanges between two countries
could be a step towards a warming of relations. "I confirm the
readiness of the government of Armenia to engage in constructive
dialogue and establish relations without preconditions," Sarksyan
wrote in a letter to Turkey.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic links after Ankara severed ties
in protest against Armenian control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region,
which Armenia invaded in a war with Azerbaijan in the early 1990s. The
border between Turkey and Armenia has been closed.

"I assure you that our efforts will be aimed at ensuring peace,
tolerance and stability in our region," Sarksyan added in the letter.

Armenia’s genocide claims are another problem in two countries’
relations. Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5
million of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915.

Turkey rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along with
at least as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when the
Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.

Turkey is of the view that parliaments and other political institutions
are not the appropriate forums to debate and pass judgment on
disputed periods of history. Past events and controversial periods
of history should be left to historians for their dispassionate study
and evaluation.

In 2005, Turkey has officially proposed the establishment of a joint
commission comprised of historians and other experts from both sides
to study the events of 1915, utilizing not only Turkish and Armenian
archives, but also those of relevant third-party countries and to share
their findings with the public. Armenia has not responded positively
to this initiative, as yet.