United Press International
Sept 6 2008
Turkish, Armenian heads hold rare meeting
Published: Sept. 6, 2008 at 4:37
YEREVAN, Armenia, Sept. 6 (UPI) — Turkish President Abdullah Gul met
with Armenian President Serge Sarkisian in Armenia Saturday in a bid
to thaw relations frozen since World War I.
The meeting — at Sarkisian’s office before an unprecedented World Cup
qualifying soccer match between the two nations — marked "a new
symbolic start in the countries’ relations," Sarkisian said.
The two leaders — who met despite heavy public opposition in each
nation — "shared opinions on how to bring stability and cooperation
to the Caucasus region," including a Turkish proposal for a regional
forum to encourage political and economic links with five neighbors,
Armenia among them, Gul said at a news conference with Sarkisian.
Turkey proposed the forum following Russia’s incursion in Georgia,
which borders Armenia and Turkey.
Gul is the first Turkish leader to set foot in Armenia since the
former Soviet republic declared independence in 1991.
Some observers believe the meeting could lead to the full diplomatic
relations in the near future, Euronews reported. They have had no
diplomatic relations and their border has been closed since 1993.
Their animosity goes back to Ottoman-era massacres of Armenians that
many historians call a genocide, a label Turkey disputes.
Turkey won Saturday’s World Cup qualifying match 2-0.