SARKISYAN WANTS "REAL STEPS" FROM ANKARA TO OPEN THE TURKISH BORDER
TurkishNY
rkisyan-wants-qreal-stepsq-from-ankara-to-open-the -turkish-border.html
July 29 2009
Armenian President Serge Sarkisian said Tuesday he would only agree
to attend a football match in neighboring Turkey if Ankara takes
"real steps" to open their border.
Sarkisian was invited to the return leg of the World Cup qualifying tie
between Turkey and Armenia on Oct.14 when Turkish President Abdullah
Gul was in Yerevan last year to attend the first leg.
"I will only accept this invitation if previously made agreements are
fulfilled, if there are real steps. I will visit Turkey if we have
re-opened the borders and if we are on the verge of an end to the
blockade," Sarkisian was quoted by AFP as saying at a press conference
in Yerevan with Serbian President Boris Tadic.
"We expect that we will soon see constructive steps our [Turkish]
colleagues will make to create the conditions for the Armenian
president’s visit," Tadic said.
Ankara cut diplomatic links with Yerevan and closed the border in
a show of support to Azerbaijan in 1993 after 20 percent of its
territory was invaded by Armenia in the disputed region – a frozen
conflict legacy of the Soviet Union known as Nagorno-Karabakh.
Ankara and Yerevan, however, have been engaged in a normalization
process, including the reopening of the border, since Gul’s landmark
visit to Armenia as the first Turkish leader to visit the neighboring
country.
The two countries agreed in April on a "road map" deal for normalizing
ties after months of U.S.-backed talks, but there have been few signs
of progress since the announcement.
Turkey has said it will not open its border with Armenia before
the neighboring country ends its occupation of the disputed
Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh have been continuing since a
cease-fire in 1994. International mediators have said repeatedly
in recent months that they are close to a breakthrough, but there
is little sign of when it might come or whether an agreement can be
implemented on the ground.