RA FM: TOGETHER ARMENIA AND TURKEY WILL ACHIEVE COMMON GOAL – NORMALIZE RELATIONS

PanARMENIAN.Net
05.12.2008 15:26 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The bold steps taken by the Presidents of Armenia
and Turkey demonstrate political will and readiness to move forward,
Armenian Foreign Minister said.

"Of course, no one expects miracles and we were pragmatic enough not
to think that all problems would be solved overnight. However, the
important thing is to achieve a tangible result and not to negotiate
for the sake of negotiations. We are looking for establishment of
diplomatic relations and opening of borders without any precondition
and we expect the same approach from the Turkish side. Parties continue
to work and negotiate and I hope that together we will achieve what
I believe is our common goal – normalize our relations and bring
security and stability to our region," Minister Edward Nalbandian
said in his address to the OSCE Ministerial Council.

"I would like to wish success to the incoming Chairmanship-in-Office
and to ensure my distinguished Greek colleague, Minister Dora Bakoyanis
that she can count on the support of Armenia in all her endeavours
aimed at reaching security and prosperity in the OSCE area."

"There is one more long-standing problem which needs wise approach
and political courage to be resolved. I would like to briefly touch
upon the Armenian-Turkish relations, the normalization of which will
highly contribute to the establishment of stability and security in
the whole region," he said

Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul was in Yerevan on Sept. 6 to watch
a World Cup qualifier between the Armenian and Turkish national
teams. Before the match, the heads of state discussed possibilities to
normalize bilateral relations. "We hope we will be able to demonstrate
goodwill to solve the problems between our countries and not leave
them to future generations," Armenian President Sargsyan said after
the meeting.