TURKEY MAY LIFT EMBARGO ON ARMENIA AND OPEN BORDER - REPORTS
13:13 â~@¢ 13.02.14
Forecasts on new developments in the Turkish-Armenian relations have
appeared in the headlines of Turkish-language media.
The AkÅ~_am newspaper reports that Turkey is launching border
checkpoints for two of its neighbors, Iran and Armenia.
According to the Turkish service of The Voice of Russia, the country
continues its demining activities in the border areas.
The new checkpoints' construction is expected to cost 52 million
Euros. In the meantime, modernization activities are under way on
the Iranian and Armenian borders.
The Zurich Protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia (for the
normalization of bilateral ties and the opening of the closed border)
in October 2009 were never ratified. Ankara recalled them in the
wake Azerbaijan pressures, linking the process with the unresolved
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (which is unrelated to the protocols).
But the two countries' relations have seen positive chances recently,
reports the radio station's Turkish service.
It describes FM Ahmet Davutoglu's visit to Yerevan in December last
as a positive sign in the bilateral normalization efforts.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Germany
earlier this month, met with Chancellor Angela Merkel who made calls
for a historical showdown and the opening of the closed border with
Armenia.
Similar calls had been earlier voiced by the United States, France
and several European countries.
After a two-year stall in the Armenian-Azerbaijani talks over
Nagorno-Karabakh (Nov. 19, 2013), Turkey is content with the meeting
between the two countries' leaders and the dynamics in the peace
process, reports the source.
The modernization activities across the borderline and the demining
in Turkey's border areas demonstrate that Ankara is preparing for a
positive scenario and the lifting of the economic embargo on Armenia,
it adds.
Armenian News - Tert.am
13:13 â~@¢ 13.02.14
Forecasts on new developments in the Turkish-Armenian relations have
appeared in the headlines of Turkish-language media.
The AkÅ~_am newspaper reports that Turkey is launching border
checkpoints for two of its neighbors, Iran and Armenia.
According to the Turkish service of The Voice of Russia, the country
continues its demining activities in the border areas.
The new checkpoints' construction is expected to cost 52 million
Euros. In the meantime, modernization activities are under way on
the Iranian and Armenian borders.
The Zurich Protocols signed between Turkey and Armenia (for the
normalization of bilateral ties and the opening of the closed border)
in October 2009 were never ratified. Ankara recalled them in the
wake Azerbaijan pressures, linking the process with the unresolved
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (which is unrelated to the protocols).
But the two countries' relations have seen positive chances recently,
reports the radio station's Turkish service.
It describes FM Ahmet Davutoglu's visit to Yerevan in December last
as a positive sign in the bilateral normalization efforts.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who visited Germany
earlier this month, met with Chancellor Angela Merkel who made calls
for a historical showdown and the opening of the closed border with
Armenia.
Similar calls had been earlier voiced by the United States, France
and several European countries.
After a two-year stall in the Armenian-Azerbaijani talks over
Nagorno-Karabakh (Nov. 19, 2013), Turkey is content with the meeting
between the two countries' leaders and the dynamics in the peace
process, reports the source.
The modernization activities across the borderline and the demining
in Turkey's border areas demonstrate that Ankara is preparing for a
positive scenario and the lifting of the economic embargo on Armenia,
it adds.
Armenian News - Tert.am