Agence France Presse — English
July 18, 2008 Friday 12:00 PM GMT
Turkey, Armenia in secret talks to normalise ties
ANKARA, July 18 2008
Diplomats from Turkey and Armenia, neighbours without diplomatic
relations, met secretly in Switzerland this month in a bid to
normalise ties, the mass circulation daily Hurriyet reported Friday.
The delegations met in Bern on July 8 and held talks for several days,
Huerriyet said.
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan did not deny the report, saying the two
countries have contacts "from time to time" and stressing that Ankara
favours dialogue with its northeastern neighbour.
The meeting reflects a softer attitute towards Turkey by Armenian
President Serzh Sarkisian, elected in February, Hurriyet commented,
and reported that the United States and some European Union countries
were informed of the talks.
Ankara has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Yerevan since the
former Soviet republic gained independence in 1991 because of Armenian
efforts to secure international recognition of Armenian massacres
under the Ottoman Empire as genocide.
In 1993, Turkey shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity
with its close ally Azerbaijan, then at war with Armenia, dealing a
heavy economic blow to the impoverished nation.
"We have contacts with Armenian colleagues from time to time," Babacan
told reporters Friday. "It is important to discuss how relations
between the two countries can be normalised through dialogue."
Turkish and Armenian leaders have met on the sidelines of
international gatherings, including a Black Sea regional summit in
Istanbul last year.
In 2006, Ankara disclosed that Turkish and Armenian diplomats had held
three rounds of talks "to determine whether there is common ground on
which to make progress in bilateral ties."
More recently, Sarkisian invited Turkish President Abdullah Gul to
watch a football World Cup qualifying match between Turkey and Armenia
in Yerevan in September. Gul is yet to reply.
Armenians claim up to 1.5 million of their kin were killed in
orchestrated massacres during World War I as the Turkish Ottoman
Empire was falling apart.
They have pursued an extensive campaign for an international
recognition of the killings as genocide, securing the support of an
array of countries, including France.
Turkey categorically rejects the genocide label and argues that
300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife when
the Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia and
sided with invading Russian troops.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
