ARMENIAN, TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTERS MAKE JOINT STATEMENT, SWITZERLAND MEDIATES

/ARKA/
April 23, 2009
YEREVAN

Turkey and Armenia, together with Switzerland as mediator, have
been working intensively with a view to normalizing their bilateral
relations and developing them in a spirit of good-neighborliness, and
mutual respect, and thus to promoting peace, security and stability in
the whole region, the RA Foreign Ministry quotes the Armenian-Turkish
joint statements of foreign ministries and the Swiss Federal Department
of Foreign Affairs.

The two parties have achieved tangible progress and mutual
understanding in this process and they have agreed on a comprehensive
framework for the normalization of their bilateral relations in a
mutually satisfactory manner. In this context, a road-map has been
identified. This agreed basis provides a positive prospect for the
on-going process, the report says.

No diplomatic relations exist between Armenia and Turkey, and the
Armenian-Turkish border has been closed since 1993 initiated by
official Ankara.

Official Yerevan says it is ready to establish relations with
Turkey without any preconditions. But Turkey puts preconditions for
establishing bilateral relations, particularly requests Armenia to give
up the policy of international recognition of the Armenian genocide
of 1915 when about one and a half million Armenians were massacred.

The Armenian-Turkish relations began to thaw last year, when Turkish
Pres ident Abdullah Gul visited Yerevan on September 6 to watch a
World Cup qualifier between Armenian and Turkish teams.

During the meeting, both leaders discussed possible establishment of
bilateral relations.