IAN MICALLEF SAYS INITIATIVE MUST BE MAINTAINED AND STRENGTHENED

Panorama.am
17:18 03/09/2009

Council of Europe Congress welcomes rapprochement between Armenia and
Turkey. In this regard the President of the Congress Ian Micallef said:
"I welcome the launch of discussions between Armenia and Turkey on
the normalisation of their bilateral relations, which should lead to
the establishment of diplomatic ties and the opening of the border
between these two member states of the Council of Europe."

"This is very good news for the region as a whole, but first and
foremost for these two countries. This reassuring step forward must
open new opportunities for Armenian and Turkish communities to reach
out to each other for dialogue, exchanges and cooperation across
the border, in the light of relevant Council of Europe conventions,"
underlined the Congress President a.i.

"The Congress monitors closely the situation of local and regional
democracy in Armenia and Turkey, and we are convinced that improving
relations between these two countries will further boost democratic
processes at all levels. The normalisation of bilateral relations
between Armenia and Turkey is pivotal for the overall stability in
the region. The momentum created by this initiative must be maintained
and strengthened," concluded Ian Micallef.