ARMENIA FAVORS NEIGHBORLY RELATIONS WITH TURKEY, AZERBAIJAN – ARMENIAN PM
Interfax
Jan 14 2009
Russia
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan hails the possibility of
establishing diplomatic relations with neighboring Turkey.
"There are considerable advances in Armenian-Turkish relations. I
think that the establishment of diplomatic relations with Turkey is
rather realistic," Sargsyan told Interfax.
"As of today the negotiating process with our Turkish colleagues is
very smooth. The Foreign Ministry also makes a lot of effort in this
area," the prime minister said.
"It is in Armenia’s interests that there are normal relations with
neighbors, including Turkey and Azerbaijan. This is in the interests
of our country. We should continue talks and we should be able to
establish good relations with both Azerbaijan and Turkey," he said.
There are still no diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey.
The 1915 events in the Ottoman Empire remain a stumbling block in the
relations between the two countries. A number of nations recognized
the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Turkey in 1915, which claimed
more than 1.5 million lives. Armenia wants Turkey to recognize the
genocide, but Turkey refuses to do so.
For its part, Ankara demands that the Karabakh conflict be resolved
on the basis of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.