Fiji Times (Australia)
September 5, 2008 Friday
1 Edition
President Gul visits Armenia
ANKARA, AFP – President Abdullah Gul will visit Armenia on Sunday to
watch a football match with counterpart Serge Sarkissian, becoming the
first Turkish head of state to visit Yerevan, his office said
yesterday.
President Abdullah Gul becomes the first Turkish head of state to
visit Armenia, and Ankara hopes his trip to attend a football match
will heal old wounds over the massacre of Armenians by Turkish forces.
Mr Gul goes to Yerevan to watch a 2010 World Cup qualifying match with
counterpart Serge Sarkissian at the latter’s invitation, the Turkish
presidency said today.
"A visit around this match can create a new climate of friendship in
the region," the Turkish presidency posted on its website. "It’s with
this in mind that the president has accepted the invitation.
"This match could lift the obstacles blocking the coming together of
two peoples who share a common history and can create a new
foundation," it said.
The presidency said that it hopes the visit means "an opportunity for
a better mutual understanding".
Mr Gul’s trip represents a key step towards ending almost a century of
animosity over the massacre of Armenians under the erstwhile Turkish
Ottoman empire.
Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic relations with Armenia
since it became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. The key
reason is Yerevan’s campaign for the deaths of Armenian civilians in
1915-1917 to be classified as genocide.
Mr Gul’s decision to visit Armenia was not openly welcomed at home.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
