Armenian president says meeting with Turkish premier "useful"

Public Television of Armenia
Jan 30 2009

Armenian president says meeting with Turkish premier "useful"

[Presenter] President [of Armenia Serzh] Sargsyan and Turkish Prime
Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan have assessed positively the results
of their first meeting, in Davos on 29 January, and have assigned the
foreign ministers of the two countries to make additional efforts
towards settlement of relations.

[Passage omitted: details of Sargsyan’s meeting with the Russian prime
minister.]

[Correspondent over video of meetings] The press in Davos focused its
attention specially on President Sargsyan’s today’s meetings for the
simple reason that a meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan was planned. It [the meeting with Erdogan] was even considered
historic, and it was noted that Turkey managed to settle its relations
with Greece owing to meetings in Davos. Will the success story repeat
itself in Armenia’s case? The Sargsyan-Erdogan meeting lasted about
forty minutes.

[Sargsyan speaking in Armenian to reporters] This was our first
meeting, and I believe it was useful. I saw that the prime minister
also has a wish to settle our relations and this is a good
circumstance.

[Correspondent] Rather constructive – [this is how Armenian] Foreign
Minister Edvard Nalbandyan described the Armenian-Turkish negotiations
in Davos.

[Nalbandyan speaking in Armenian to a reporter] The leaders of the two
countries [Armenia and Turkey] assess positively the general process
towards settlement; and they have assigned the foreign ministers to
make additional efforts towards settlement [of relations].