GUL’S YEREVAN VISIT APPLAUDED BY MAJORITY IN TURKEY
armradio.am
09.09.2008 12:49
A brief visit by President Abdullah Gul to Yerevan to attend a soccer
match between the Turkish and Armenian national teams was welcomed
by an overwhelming majority of Turkish society, as it was considered
a landmark step to thaw relations between the two countries, a new
opinion poll has found, Today’s Zaman reported.
The Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic & Social Research Center conducted
a survey on Gul’s visit to Yerevan to learn Turks’ views on the visit.
According to the survey, 69.6 percent of those polled found Gul’s
visit to Armenia successful, a figure suggesting that Turks are
hopeful the visit may be a turning point in the relations between
Turkey and Armenia. Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan invited Gul to
watch a World Cup qualifying match between the Turkish and Armenian
national teams in Yerevan. Gul’s acceptance of the invitation raised
hopes for dialogue that could eventually restore relations between the
two estranged neighbors and help bury an almost century-old hostility.
The major question of the survey was whether Gul’s visit to Armenia
was successful or not. An overwhelming 69.6 percent of respondents said
the visit was successful, whereas 15 percent said it was unsuccessful
and 15.4 percent said they had no idea.
"Turkey and Armenia took a step to normalize relations after long years
of dispute. Though some political parties and politicians strongly
opposed Gul traveling to Yerevan, both the government and the president
did the best to thaw the ice between the two countries. Gul’s visit
to Armenia was met with satisfaction by the Turkish nation. To me,
this visit may be a turning point in Turkish-Armenian relations,"
said Professor Ozer Sencar, one of the administrators of the poll.
Professor Eser KarakaÅ~_, a columnist for the Star daily, said the
visit was a huge step for the settlement of problems between the
two neighbors.
"This is a significant step of goodwill. It would be great if both
countries reinforced this step with similar ones in the future. It
may not solve all problems between Turkey and Armenia but may at
least help Turkey open its border with its neighbor," he stated.
Another question directed to respondents in the poll was on the tough
stance of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and
the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) toward Gul’s visit to
Yerevan. When asked whether the CHP and the MHP were right to react
negatively to Gul’s visit, 65.6 percent of those polled said the two
opposition parties were wrong to harshly criticize the visit. Only
24.9 percent of respondents said the two parties were right to do so
and 9.5 percent said they had no idea.
Another topic20of the new poll was future relations with Armenia. In
response to a question over what kind of policy Turkey should pursue in
relations with its neighbor, 62.8 percent of those polled said Turkey
should develop diplomatic and economic relations with Armenia, whereas
25.9 percent said it should maintain the existing policies. Another
11.3 percent said they had no idea.
–Boundary_(ID_O5KnZZNn3sfXObuN1tmxIg)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
