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ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: NO DEAL YET IN TURKEY BORDER TALKS
Agence France Presse
April 16 2009
Talks between Armenia and Turkey on establishing diplomatic ties and
opening their border are making progress but no deal has been reached,
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said Thursday.
"There is no intention today for us to sign an agreement with
the Turkish side. Negotiations continue," Nalbandian told a news
conference. "There is progress and we think that we really may be
very close to resolving this question in the near future," he said
during a meeting of Black Sea region countries seeking closer economic
cooperation. Media reports had speculated the two feuding countries
may sign an agreement during Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan's
visit to Armenia Thursday for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
meeting. Babacan didn't take part in the press conference and wasn't
available for comment. His trip coincides with stepped-up efforts
between Turkey and Armenia to resolve disputes stemming from a bloody
history. Reconciliation talks between the countries, held away from
public eye, gathered steam in September when President Abdullah Gul
paid a landmark visit to Armenia, the first by a Turkish leader,
to watch a football match. But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan last week ruled out a deal with Armenia unless Yerevan
resolved its conflict with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorny
Karabakh region. Azerbaijan has expressed concern Turkey may be
setting aside the Karabakh question in its talks with Armenia.
Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia because
of Yerevan's international campaign to have the mass killings of
Armenians under the Ottoman Empire recognized as genocide. In 1993,
Turkey also shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity with
close ally Azerbaijan over the Karabakh conflict, dealing a serious
economic blow to the impoverished Caucasian nation. During a visit to
Turkey this month, U.S. President Barack Obama urged both countries to
"move forward" in their talks and signaled he wouldn't interfere in
their dispute over Armenia's genocide claims.
Agence France Presse
April 16 2009
Talks between Armenia and Turkey on establishing diplomatic ties and
opening their border are making progress but no deal has been reached,
Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said Thursday.
"There is no intention today for us to sign an agreement with
the Turkish side. Negotiations continue," Nalbandian told a news
conference. "There is progress and we think that we really may be
very close to resolving this question in the near future," he said
during a meeting of Black Sea region countries seeking closer economic
cooperation. Media reports had speculated the two feuding countries
may sign an agreement during Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan's
visit to Armenia Thursday for the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
meeting. Babacan didn't take part in the press conference and wasn't
available for comment. His trip coincides with stepped-up efforts
between Turkey and Armenia to resolve disputes stemming from a bloody
history. Reconciliation talks between the countries, held away from
public eye, gathered steam in September when President Abdullah Gul
paid a landmark visit to Armenia, the first by a Turkish leader,
to watch a football match. But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan last week ruled out a deal with Armenia unless Yerevan
resolved its conflict with Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorny
Karabakh region. Azerbaijan has expressed concern Turkey may be
setting aside the Karabakh question in its talks with Armenia.
Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with Armenia because
of Yerevan's international campaign to have the mass killings of
Armenians under the Ottoman Empire recognized as genocide. In 1993,
Turkey also shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity with
close ally Azerbaijan over the Karabakh conflict, dealing a serious
economic blow to the impoverished Caucasian nation. During a visit to
Turkey this month, U.S. President Barack Obama urged both countries to
"move forward" in their talks and signaled he wouldn't interfere in
their dispute over Armenia's genocide claims.