Bloomberg
Sept 8 2008

Turkey Says Armenia Talks May Re-establish Relations, Trade

By Mark Bentley

Sept. 7 (Bloomberg) — Turkish President Abdullah Gul said his visit
to Armenia yesterday may herald a breakthrough in relations with a
nation that accuses Turkey of genocide.

Gul and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan held talks in Yerevan on the
sidelines of a soccer game between the two countries. Gul’s trip to
Armenia was the first by a Turkish head of state.

“Everything will move forward and normalize if this climate
continues,” Gul said on his plane as he returned to the Turkish
capital Ankara late yesterday, according to the state- run Anatolia
news agency. “I believe my visit has destroyed a psychological
barrier in the Caucasus.”

Turkey and Armenia have no official diplomatic ties and their common
border remains closed to trade. Armenia accuses Turkey of genocide
against 1.5 million of its citizens during World War I, a claim Turkey
rejects.

Turkey and Armenia are neighbors of Georgia, where Russia launched a
military incursion last month in a dispute over the future of South
Ossetia, a region of Georgia that’s seeking political independence.

Gul said he and Sargsyan didn’t talk about re-opening their border or
the alleged genocide. The killings are widely recognized as fact by
parliaments around the world, including in France and Italy.

The two leaders did discuss “in detail” their differences over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a majority-Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan which has
declared independence, Gul said. Turkey shut its border with Armenia
in 1993 in protest at an Armenian military intervention into the
enclave.

The European Union, considering Turkey’s membership application, has
welcomed Gul’s visit to Armenia as a means to enhance political
stability in the region.

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, who accompanied Gul on the trip, said
yesterday Turkey is ready to discuss re-establishing diplomatic ties
with Armenia, Agence France-Presse reported.

Turkey beat Armenia 2-0 in the World Cup soccer qualifier.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress