ARMENIA: PRESIDENT WILL VISIT TURKEY ONLY IF BORDERS ARE OPENED

EurasiaNet
July 29 2009
NY

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan says he will accept Turkish President
Abdullah Gul’s invitation to visit Istanbul for a World Cup qualifying
match between Turkey and Armenia only if the two countries first
reach an agreement about reopening their border.

"I will leave for Turkey only if the Armenian-Turkish border is opened,
or [is] on the threshold of its unblocking," Sargsyan told a July 28
news conference. "On the eve of the Armenia-Turkey football match,
Armenia expects from Turkey constructive moves taken in the immediate
term."

He added that Turkey is making efforts to facilitate his attendance
at the October 14 match, but did not elaborate. Fifteen years
after Turkey closed its border with Armenia to support Turkish ally
Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Gul made an historic
visit to Armenia in September 2008. [For background see the Eurasia
Insight archive]. A diplomatic rapprochement is the ultimate goal of
the so-called "football diplomacy" campaign between Ankara and Yerevan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress