, Turkey
Jan 1 2009

Turkey hopes better Armenia ties after Gul’s 2008-visit

Turkish President Abdullah Gul accepted an invitation by the Armenian
President Serzh Sargsian to watch a Turkey-Armenia World Cup qualifier
match in Yerevan.

Thursday, 01 January 2009 13:15

The beginning of a dialogue process between Turkey and its problematic
neighbor Armenia was one of the most important incident in 2008 in
bilateral relations as it brought life to very limited relations
between the two countries.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul accepted an invitation by the Armenian
President Serzh Sargsian to watch a Turkey-Armenia World Cup qualifier
match in Yerevan.

Abdullah Gul met with Sargsian in Yerevan on September 6. President
Gul said that he wishes the soccer match between Turkey and Armenia to
help lift obstacles that prevent the peoples of Turkey and Armenia
from getting closer to each other and to contribute to regional
friendship and peace.

On September 7, President Gul said that he witnessed the Armenian side
to be in agreement with Turkey in trying to lift obstacles that block
the development of bilateral relations through dialogue.

In addition to Gul’s talks in Yerevan, the meetings held by the
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan with his Azerbaijani and Armenian
counterparts in various platforms were important steps that
contributed to the dialogue process with Armenia.

Armenian President Sargsian said that there may be very positive
developments with Turkey in less than a year.

Armenian officials said that they welcomed a proposal by Turkey to
establish a Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform.

"We are ready to open our border with Turkey and establish diplomatic
relations without preconditions," told Armenian authorities.

Though the Turkish-Armenian border is closed, around 60,000 Armenian
tourists visit Turkey annually.

Around 70,000 Armenian citizens work as illegal migrants in Turkey.

Armenia’s occupation of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory, Armenia’s
one-sided description of the incidents of 1915 and statements in
Armenian Constitution that allege that a portion of Turkey’s territory
actually belongs to the Armenians are some of the problems in
bilateral relations.

AA