ALI BABACAN: "ABDULLAH GUL’S ATTENDANCE WILL DEPEND ON DEVELOPMENTS AHEAD OF THE MATCH"
Azeri Press Agency
July 16 2008
Azerbaijan
Ankara -APA. "Armenia is our neighbor. The normalization of relations
with Armenia is one of Turkey’s serious foreign policy goals," Turkey’s
foreign minister Ali Babacan told NTV broadcaster on Wednesday.
He said they were discussing Armenia’s invitation and President
Abdullah Gul’s attendance at the football match between Armenian and
Turkish teams in Yerevan would depend on the developments ahead of the
match. While expressing opinion about the US presidential candidate
Barack Obama’s promise to recognize false "Armenian genocide",
Babacan said it would seriously damage relations between Ankara and
Washington. "They should correctly estimate the results of such step",
said the minister and reminded that US presidential candidates could
change their positions after their victory in the elections.