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ANSA English Media Service
May 13, 2005
ARMENIA/TURKEY: YEREVAN READY TO RESUME TIES
ANKARA
(ANSA) - ANKARA, May 13 - Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian has for the first time said that the border between
Armenia and Turkey could be opened by the end of 2005 and that
diplomatic relations between the two countries could be resumed.
"The current conditions allow a normalisation of the
relations between Armenia and Turkey," the Turkish media quoted
Margarian as saying in Yerevan. "We must do everything possible
to open the border by the end of the year in order to resume
diplomatic relations between the two countries."
The border between Armenia and Turkey was closed and
relations broken off due to two reasons.
The first thorny issue is the controversial conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh in 1989-1994, which ended with the occupation
of the region and neighbouring areas by the Armenians and the
immigration of nearly a million ethnic Azeri to Azerbaijan.
The second stumbling block is the controversy on the massacre
of 1.5 million Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915 and 1916.
The Armenians, supported by many countries throughout the
world, call for the massacre to be recognised as "genocide"
while Turkey opposes such a definition and has recently proposed
the formation of a joint Armenian-Turkish commission to examine
the issue.
The European Union is pressing upon both countries to
normalise ties.
An informal meeting between Margarian and Turkish Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to take place next week on
the sidelines of the European Council summit in Warsaw on May 16
and 17. (ANSA).
May 13, 2005
ARMENIA/TURKEY: YEREVAN READY TO RESUME TIES
ANKARA
(ANSA) - ANKARA, May 13 - Armenian Prime Minister Andranik
Margarian has for the first time said that the border between
Armenia and Turkey could be opened by the end of 2005 and that
diplomatic relations between the two countries could be resumed.
"The current conditions allow a normalisation of the
relations between Armenia and Turkey," the Turkish media quoted
Margarian as saying in Yerevan. "We must do everything possible
to open the border by the end of the year in order to resume
diplomatic relations between the two countries."
The border between Armenia and Turkey was closed and
relations broken off due to two reasons.
The first thorny issue is the controversial conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh in 1989-1994, which ended with the occupation
of the region and neighbouring areas by the Armenians and the
immigration of nearly a million ethnic Azeri to Azerbaijan.
The second stumbling block is the controversy on the massacre
of 1.5 million Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915 and 1916.
The Armenians, supported by many countries throughout the
world, call for the massacre to be recognised as "genocide"
while Turkey opposes such a definition and has recently proposed
the formation of a joint Armenian-Turkish commission to examine
the issue.
The European Union is pressing upon both countries to
normalise ties.
An informal meeting between Margarian and Turkish Prime
Minister Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to take place next week on
the sidelines of the European Council summit in Warsaw on May 16
and 17. (ANSA).