ARMENIAN PRESIDENT WELCOMES TURKISH PLAN FOR CAUCASUS FORUM

Hurriyet
Sept 3 2008
Turkey

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday welcomed a Turkish
proposal for a new forum in the volatile Caucasus region, AFP reported.

Sargsyan was speaking after a meeting with a senior Turkish envoy on
the eve of an expected visit to Armenia by Turkish President Abdullah
Gul that would mark a major breakthrough in ties.

"Armenia has always welcomed and welcomes all efforts directed at the
strengthening of confidence, stability and security, and at deepening
cooperation in the region," Sarkisian said in a statement after meeting
with Gul’s special envoy Unal Cevikoz in the Armenian capital Yerevan.

He added Cevikoz’s visit "raises the possibility of talks to settle
mutual relations" between the two countries, which have no diplomatic
ties.

Sargsyan invited Gul to Armenia to watch together the 2010 World Cup
qualifying round game between the two countries national teams on
Sept. 6 to mark "a new symbolic start in the countries’ relations".

Gul’s close circles and recent reports claim the Turkish president
would accept the invitation and travel to Yerevan to watch the
game. But Turkish officials have refrained from revealing the final
decision until the last moment.

Gul could become the first Turkish leader to visit neighboring Armenia
on Saturday.

NATO member Turkey has called for the establishment of a forum to
boost cooperation in the Caucasus, involving regional countries
and Moscow, after tensions between Georgia and Russia erupted in a
military conflict last month.

Turkey is among the first countries that recognized Armenia when it
declared its independency. However there is no diplomatic relations
between the two countries, as Armenia presses the international
community to admit the so-called "genocide" claims instead of accepting
Turkey’s call to investigate the allegations, and its invasion of
20 percent of Azerbaijani territory despite U.N. Security Council
resolutions on the issue.

A warming period had started between two neighboring countries when
the two presidents exchanged letters after Sargsyan’s election victory.