ARMENIA AND TURKEY TAKE STEP TOWARD RECONCILIATION
By Avet Demourian

The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, VA.)
September 1, 2009 Tuesday

Armenia and Turkey agreed Monday to final talks aimed at establishing
diplomatic relations and resolving a seemingly intractable rift that
dates to the massacres of Armenians under Ottoman rule nearly 100
years ago .

Both sides said in a joint statement they expected the talks to take
six weeks and to end with an agreement setting up and developing ties.

Armenian President Serge Sarkisian, however, has indicated the
long-running dispute over the World War I-era killings of Armenians
would not be a deal-breaker between the two neighbors.

"It’s important that historical justice be restored. It’s important
that our nations are able to establish normal relations. It’s
important, finally, that this not be repeated in the future," Sarkisian
said in an interview published Monday by the BBC Russian service.

"But we do not regard a recognition of genocide as a preliminary
condition for establishing relations," he said.

Historians estimate that, in the last days of the Ottoman Empire,
up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in what is
widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century.

Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, contending the toll
has been inflated and that the casualties were victims of civil war .

talking it over Discussions aimed at establishing ties are expected
to take 6 weeks.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress