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Turkish-Armenian signing is 'event of century' - experts
02:3111/10/2009
ANKARA, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - Turkish-Armenian signing should be
considered the political event of the century, Turkish political
analysts said.
Turkey and Armenia signed on Saturday historic accords restoring
diplomatic relations and opening borders between the two countries.
"The signing of the agreements should be considered the major
geopolitical event of the 21st century," Huseyin Bagci, Vice President
of the European Security Academy, told RIA Novosti.
President of the Turkish Center for International Relations and
Strategic Analysis Sinan Ogan said Turkish decision to sign the accords
is one of its "main foreign policy initiatives" in recent years, which
was realized "under pressure and support from abroad."
He said the number of international representatives present at the
singing ceremony showed the high importance of the agreements.
The documents were signed in Zurich by the Turkish and Armenian foreign
ministers at a ceremony attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner, Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar,
and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for
Muslim ally Azerbaijan, following a bloody conflict over Nagorny
Karabakh between the two ex-Soviet republics. Turkey has also d
emanded
that Yerevan drop its campaign to have the mass killings of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks in 1915 internationally recognized as genocide.
Armenia and Turkey agreed to a "roadmap" to normalize their relations
under Swiss mediation this April. The draft pact between the countries
has been backed by the United States and European Union.
Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian
population, has been a source of conflict between the former Soviet
republics since the late 1980s. The province has its own government and
is de facto independent.
During his recent international visit, Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan met with representatives of Armenian diasporas in different
countries, and many of them expressed their opposition to the signing
of a Turkish-Armenian agreement.
02:3111/10/2009
ANKARA, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - Turkish-Armenian signing should be
considered the political event of the century, Turkish political
analysts said.
Turkey and Armenia signed on Saturday historic accords restoring
diplomatic relations and opening borders between the two countries.
"The signing of the agreements should be considered the major
geopolitical event of the 21st century," Huseyin Bagci, Vice President
of the European Security Academy, told RIA Novosti.
President of the Turkish Center for International Relations and
Strategic Analysis Sinan Ogan said Turkish decision to sign the accords
is one of its "main foreign policy initiatives" in recent years, which
was realized "under pressure and support from abroad."
He said the number of international representatives present at the
singing ceremony showed the high importance of the agreements.
The documents were signed in Zurich by the Turkish and Armenian foreign
ministers at a ceremony attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, French Foreign
Minister Bernard Kouchner, Slovenian Foreign Minister Samuel Zbogar,
and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for
Muslim ally Azerbaijan, following a bloody conflict over Nagorny
Karabakh between the two ex-Soviet republics. Turkey has also d
emanded
that Yerevan drop its campaign to have the mass killings of Armenians
by Ottoman Turks in 1915 internationally recognized as genocide.
Armenia and Turkey agreed to a "roadmap" to normalize their relations
under Swiss mediation this April. The draft pact between the countries
has been backed by the United States and European Union.
Nagorny Karabakh, a region in Azerbaijan with a largely Armenian
population, has been a source of conflict between the former Soviet
republics since the late 1980s. The province has its own government and
is de facto independent.
During his recent international visit, Armenian President Serzh
Sargsyan met with representatives of Armenian diasporas in different
countries, and many of them expressed their opposition to the signing
of a Turkish-Armenian agreement.