Russia Today
July 11 2009
Armenia wants ties with Turkey restored ` official
11 July, 2009, 18:18
Armenia has reaffirmed it wants to restore ties with Turkey and open
its borders without any preconditions.
The statement came from the Armenian Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandyan, speaking at a joint news conference with the US Deputy
Secretary of State James Steinberg.
`As it was previously said, Armenia is ready to normalize relations
with Turkey without any preconditions,’ he said. `Now we are waiting
for a response from the Turkish side.’
Turkey closed its borders with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
Azerbaijan during the Nagorno-Karabakh war ` the ethnic conflict
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Turkey is setting down several conditions for restoring relations with
Armenia, including its refusal to acknowledge the death of more than
one and a half million Armenians during the First World War as
genocide.
The countries’ envoys have held talks behind closed doors in
Switzerland, which has acted as mediator for two years.
In April both sides agreed a road map that would set them on the path
to restoring relations.
09-07-11/Armenia_wants_ties_with_Turkey_restored__ _official.html
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
