ARMENIA WANTS TO SEE TURKEY JOIN EU

RIA Novosti
18:1616/10/2009

YEREVAN, October 16 (RIA Novosti) – Armenia would like to see Turkey
join the European Union, Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisyan
said in an interview with national TV stations on Friday.

"European experts note that Turkey has fulfilled 30% of its EU
obligations.

We are interested in Turkey fulfilling the remaining 70%, as, in this
case, we would have an EU neighbor," he said.

He added that Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan had begun the
process of normalizing relations with Turkey following talks "with
our strategic partner Russia, the EU, the U.S. and some European
countries."

"It should be noted that the interests of global powers overlap on this
issue and that everyone is interested in improving Armenian-Turkish
ties," he said.

Armenia and Turkey signed historic accords on Saturday on restoring
diplomatic relations and opening borders. The documents have yet to
be ratified by the parliaments amid continued fierce opposition from
nationalist parties in both countries.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for
Azerbaijan, a predominantly Muslim, Turkic-speaking ally of Ankara,
following a bloody conflict over Nagorny Karabakh between the two
republics.

Ankara also demanded that Yerevan drop its campaign to have the
mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915 internationally
recognized as genocide.

Armenia and Turkey agreed to a "roadmap" to normalize their relations
under Swiss mediation this April.