TURKEY WARNS ARMENIA BORDER RE-OPENING TO TAKE TIME

Agence France Presse
September 1, 2009 Tuesday 9:16 AM GMT

Turkey warned Tuesday that it will take time before it re-opens its
border with Armenia after the neighbours agreed a plan to establish
diplomatic ties and end their decades-long grudge.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it would take at least
two months for parliaments in both countries to ratify the plan to
normalise relations.

"We want ties to normalise as fast as possible," Davutoglu told
NTV television. "The agreements must be ratified by the respective
parliaments and will then be implemented. It is a question of several
months."

In an earlier television interview late Monday, Davutoglu said: "At the
moment opening the border is not foreseen and it is not the priority."

Turkey has long refused to establish diplomatic links with Armenia
over Yerevan’s efforts to have World War I-era massacres of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks recognised as genocide — a label Turkey strongly
rejects.

Turkey also closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with
ally Azerbaijan over Yerevan’s backing of ethnic Armenian separatists
who seized control of the breakaway region of Nagorny Karabakh.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that it did not expect
Turkey to re-open its border with Armenia until the conflict over
Nagorny Karabakh is resolved.

"Azerbaijan’s position is based on numerous statements from
high-ranking officials in Turkey on the question of opening the
Armenian-Turkish border," said Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesman
Elkhan Polukhov.

"The opening of the border without the settlement of the Nagorny
Karabakh conflict would contradict the interests of Azerbaijan,"
he told AFP.

The Turkish foreign minister said the agreement with Armenia would
not damage the interests of Azerbaijan.

"Turkey will not get involved in any action that would hurt the
interests of Azerbaijan," Davutoglu said.

Armenia and Turkey announced Monday they would hold six weeks of
domestic consultations before signing two protocols on establishing
diplomatic ties and developing bilateral relations.

According to copies of the protocols released by the Armenian foreign
ministry, the neighbours agreed to re-open the border "within two
months" of the deal taking effect.