ARMENIA, TURKEY ‘CLOSE’ TO DIPLOMATIC TIES: YEREVAN

Agence France Presse — English
January 21, 2009 Wednesday 3:45 PM GMT

Armenia on Wednesday said it was "close" to establishing diplomatic
relations and opening borders with neighbouring Turkey to end decades
of enmity.

"I share the opinion of my Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan that we
are close to establishing diplomatic relations and the opening of
borders," Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian told reporters.

"We can make a new step forward if Turkey like Armenia accepts a
settlement without preliminary conditions."

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their border has been
closed for more than a decade amid deep differences over the World
War I massacres of Armenians under Turkey’s erstwhile Ottoman Empire.

In September, Turkish President Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish
head of state to visit Armenia, boosting a tentative dialogue process
between the two countries to overcome their history of enmity.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress