United Press International, Asia

Emerging Threats

Yerevan defends move toward Ankara

Published: Oct. 2, 2009

YEREVAN, Armenia, Oct. 2 (UPI) — Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
said improved relations with Ankara would not harm the greater
concerns over genocide or Nagorno-Karabakh.

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.

War broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh in
the early 1990s, and the regional fallout from that row remains tense
despite a 1994 cease-fire.

Sargsyan said normalizing relations with Ankara would not prevent the
international recognition of genocide or force Yerevan to back off its
claims on Nagorno-Karabakh, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports.

He told a presidential panel that "no sensible Armenian can forget the
genocide," adding Ankara would not control any negotiations.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her meetings on
Nagorno-Karabakh expressed her "strong support" for a resolution,
saying the dispute negotiating process should move forward without
preconditions.

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.

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