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Armenia, Turkey Announce No Deal After Yerevan Talks

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  • Armenia, Turkey Announce No Deal After Yerevan Talks

    ARMENIA, TURKEY ANNOUNCE NO DEAL AFTER YEREVAN TALKS

    Gaziantep Haber 27
    April 17 2009
    Turkey

    Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan gave no indications of an
    impending breakthrough in his country's relations with Armenia on
    Thursday as he visited Yerevan to attend a meeting of the Black Sea
    Economic Cooperation (BSEC) organization 17 Nisan 2009 Cuma 16:24

    His Armenian counterpart, Eduard Nalbandian, insisted, nonetheless,
    that Ankara and Yerevan may still normalize their historically strained
    relations "soon."

    Babacan refrained from making any public statements during the one-day
    trip which ended with a meeting with President Serzh Sarkisian. A short
    statement by Sarkisian's office gave no details of the talks. Babacan
    also took part in a separate group meeting between Sarkisian and
    participants of the BSEC session.

    While in Yerevan, Babacan also met with Russia's Foreign Minister
    Sergey Lavrov and Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud
    Mamedguliev.

    Recent reports in Turkish and Western media said that the two
    governments could use the BSEC meeting to announce agreement on a
    gradual normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations. However, Turkey's
    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled out such possibility,
    repeatedly stating this month that Ankara will not establish diplomatic
    relations with Yerevan and reopen the Turkish-Armenian border before
    a resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

    Babacan appeared to reaffirm that linkage as he spoke to CNN-Turk
    television on his way to Yerevan. According to "Hurriyet Daily
    News," he said the Turkish-Armenian dialogue must run parallel with
    international efforts to settle the Karabakh conflict.

    "Today we have no intention to sign any document regarding the
    normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations," Nalbandian told
    journalists after the BSEC meeting. "Negotiations continue. We have
    made progress and believe that we can really be very close to solving
    those issues soon."

    Nalbandian also made clear that Yerevan remains opposed to direct
    Turkish involvement in international efforts to settle the Karabakh
    dispute. "Turkey will not play the role of a mediator in the Karabakh
    peace process," he said.

    The Armenian minister was speaking at a joint news conference with
    Mamedguliev, whose country assumed the BSEC's rotating presidency
    from Armenia at the Yerevan meeting. Mamedguliev, a rare Azerbaijani
    official visiting Armenia, reaffirmed Baku's strong opposition to the
    normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations before Karabakh peace. "Our
    position is the following: the restoration of links between Turkey
    and Armenia may only be conditional on the resolution of the conflict
    between Armenia and Azerbaijan," he said.

    By contrast, Lavrov welcomed the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. "First
    of all, this is the bilateral affair of Armenia and Turkey," he said
    after the talks with Babacan. "We welcome all steps leading to the
    normalization of relations between any countries of the region."
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