ToTheCenter.com, NY
Sept 7 2008
Turkish President Makes Historic Visit to Armenia
Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited Armenia today in support of
Turkish national soccer team in their game against their Armenian
counterparts. This marks the first time a Turkish President has
visited neighboring Armenia since its independence 1991. The Turkish
President traveled to the capital of Armenia, Yerevan for the World
Cup qualifier.
Turkey and Armenia have had a turbulent history starting with the
genocide of hundreds of thousands of Armenians at the hands of the
Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. Turkey has
maintained that the actions taken at the time can not be qualified as
genocide. Due to this and Armenian aggression in neighboring
Azerbaijan in 1993, Turkish opposition parties were highly critical of
President Gul’s trip.
Reuters reports that the trip was done under high security as attack
helicopters escorted the President’s jet into Yerevan. President Gul’s
trip has been deemed `Soccer Diplomacy’ and with good reason. The
normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia may bring about
a new route for oil into Turkey. Also with the recent attacks by
Russia on Georgia may help shore up support against further Russian
aggression.