EDWARD NALBANDIAN: CHANCES TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS WITH TURKEY NOT LOST YET

ArmInfo
2009-07-21 10:49:00

ArmInfo. ‘We should be optimists. I think that chances for both
the states to settle their relations have not been lost yet’,
Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian said at a joint press
conference with Foreign Minister of Sweden, the EU chair-state, Carl
Bildt, in Yerevan on Monday. E. Nalbandian said that normalization
of the two countries’ relations is not only in favor of Armenia
and Turkey but also of the region. Every country welcomes this
process. ‘Probably, Azerbaijani was the only state to express
some dissatisfaction. However, it is not reasonable since the
Armenian-Turkish relations will have a positive impact on the region
and Azerbaijan is part of it’, the minister said.

He reiterated that there is no agreement on setting up of an
Armenian-Turkish joint committee of historians. He said that is has
been repeatedly declared that an inter-governmental committee may
be set up to study various issues of mutual interest, including
trust building between the Armenian and Turkish peoples if both
the parties achieve an agreement to open the border and establish
diplomatic relations.

For his part, Carl Bilft said that the EU welcomes the negotiations
between Armenia and Turkey. He agreed with his Armenian counterpart
that settlement of the two countries’ relations will positively
affect the region. The Swedish minister is sure that the parties
should overcome all the possible obstacles and the EU will support
the process by genuine efforts.