Tweet
TURKISH, ARMENIAN LEADERS HOLD 'USEFUL' TALKS
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
Jan 30 2009
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) - Armenia's president said he had a "positive
signal" Thursday from Turkey's prime minister during rare talks
between the two rival neighbors.
Serge Sarkisian said the talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan were "very useful.
"I've seen a willingness of the prime minister to solve our issues. I
think this is a positive signal," he told reporters after the two
met at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Sarkisian would not give details about the talks which took place
before Erdogan stalked off the stage after reproaching Israeli
President Shimon Peres over the Gaza offensive.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations, and have faced off
over Armenian demands that early 20th century deaths of 1.5 million
ethnic Armenians should be recognized as genocide. Turkey says the
death toll is inflated and that the deaths resulted from unrest during
the Ottoman Empire's collapse.
In recent months, Turkey and Armenia have taken steps to repair their
relationship but high-level meetings remain unusual.
Before their one-on-one talks Thursday, Sarkisian and Erdogan also
shared the stage in panel on the Caucasus and Central Asian regions.
The countries' shared border has been closed since 1993, when
Turkey protested Armenia's occupation of the disputed region of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey backs Azerbaijan's claims to the enclave,
which has a high number of ethnic Armenian residents but is located
within Azerbaijan's borders.
Sarkisian held talks with Azerbaijan's president on Wednesday in
Switzerland that fizzled with no breakthroughs over the 20-year-old
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.
PR-Inside.com (Pressemitteilung)
Jan 30 2009
DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) - Armenia's president said he had a "positive
signal" Thursday from Turkey's prime minister during rare talks
between the two rival neighbors.
Serge Sarkisian said the talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan were "very useful.
"I've seen a willingness of the prime minister to solve our issues. I
think this is a positive signal," he told reporters after the two
met at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Sarkisian would not give details about the talks which took place
before Erdogan stalked off the stage after reproaching Israeli
President Shimon Peres over the Gaza offensive.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations, and have faced off
over Armenian demands that early 20th century deaths of 1.5 million
ethnic Armenians should be recognized as genocide. Turkey says the
death toll is inflated and that the deaths resulted from unrest during
the Ottoman Empire's collapse.
In recent months, Turkey and Armenia have taken steps to repair their
relationship but high-level meetings remain unusual.
Before their one-on-one talks Thursday, Sarkisian and Erdogan also
shared the stage in panel on the Caucasus and Central Asian regions.
The countries' shared border has been closed since 1993, when
Turkey protested Armenia's occupation of the disputed region of
Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey backs Azerbaijan's claims to the enclave,
which has a high number of ethnic Armenian residents but is located
within Azerbaijan's borders.
Sarkisian held talks with Azerbaijan's president on Wednesday in
Switzerland that fizzled with no breakthroughs over the 20-year-old
Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.