SPUTNIK
Feb 11 2022
YEREVAN (Sputnik) – Over 60% of Yerevan residents oppose the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border despite the recently initiated negotiations on normalisation of relations between the two countries, Aram Navasardyan, director of MPG LLC, the representative office of the Gallup International Association in Armenia, said, quoting a poll.
According to Navasardyan, 800 residents of the Armenian capital took part in the telephone poll conducted from 24 January to 2 February.
"When asked whether they approve of the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, 6.9% of the interviewed Yerevan residents said that they definitely approve, 15.6% mostly approve, 7.6% mostly disapprove, 54.6% definitely disapprove. 15.3% of the respondents were undecided," Navasardyan told reporters.
He noted that the poll's statistical margin of error was 3.5%.
Turkey and Armenia lack formal diplomatic relations, and the border has been closed at the initiative of Ankara since 1993. The tensions were sparked by a range of causes, including Turkey's support for Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Turkey's opposition to the process of international recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide by the Ottoman Empire.
On 14 January, Moscow hosted the first meeting of the Armenian and Turkish delegations on the normalization of bilateral relations. Armenia was represented by Parliament Vice President Ruben Rubinyan and Turkey by former ambassador to the United States Serdar Kilic. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, during the talks, the parties showed their willingness to conduct a dialogue in a constructive, non-politicized manner.
The next meeting is scheduled to take place in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on 24 February.