SYRIA WELCOMES TURKISH-ARMENIA DIPLOMACY
United Press International
Sept 3 2009
Order reprintsDAMASCUS, Syria, Sept. 3 (UPI) — The Syrian Foreign
Ministry welcomed joint agreements between Turkey and Armenia to move
toward normalizing bilateral relations.
In a joint statement Monday, the governments of Turkey and Armenia
announced they would work toward normalizing diplomatic ties and
bilateral relations.
Turkish relations with Armenia were complicated by claims of genocide
during the Ottoman Empire. Recent ties are complicated over disputes
regarding the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area of dispute between
Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry through the official Syrian Arab News
Agency said it welcomed the friendship and cooperative relations
between Syria, Turkey and Armenia.
Syrian President Bashar Assad in June met with Armenian President
Serzh Sargsyan to discuss bolstering economic and foreign relations.
Assad also expressed hope that outstanding issues of Nagorno-Karabakh
would be resolved quickly so the region could move forward without
further obstacles.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a bitter military battle over
Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s, and the regional fallout from
disputes over the territory remains tense despite a 1994 cease-fire.
Ankara said in April it would open its borders with Armenia in time
for a qualifying match between both national teams for the World Cup
scheduled for October.
Baku, however, has expressed its dissatisfaction regarding the border
initiative.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress