Tweet
Armenia says Turkey border may open this year
Saturday, May 14, 2005
DIPLOMACY
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian said his country's closed
border with Turkey might be opened by the end of the year.
The current situation is ripe for the normalization of
Turkish-Armenian relations, Margarian said at a press conference in
Armenia late Thursday.
He emphasized that every effort should be made by the end of the year
to ensure the re-opening of the border and establishment of diplomatic
relations between the two neighbors.
The border has been closed for more than a decade. Turkey closed the
gate and severed diplomatic ties with Armenia after Armenian troops
occupied the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Ankara now
says normalization of ties depends on Armenian withdrawal from
Nagorno-Karabakh as well as progress on a series of bilateral issues,
including Armenia's support of Armenian diaspora efforts to secure
international recognition for an alleged genocide of Armenians at the
hands of the late Ottoman Empire.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent a letter to
Armenian President Robert Kocharian proposing that a joint commission
of historians study the allegations, but Kocharian instead called for
the establishment of an inter-governmental group that would look into
ways to normalize ties.
Heikki Talvitie, the European Union's special representative for the
South Caucasus, said a reopening of the border gate was not likely
before the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute was resolved.
I don't think the Turkey-Armenia border would be opened before first
steps are taken for a solution in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Anatolia news
agency quoted Talvitie as saying after talks with Azerbaijani
officials in Baku.
-----------
Copyright 2005, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of Groong readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact Turkish Daily News Online at
http://www.TurkishDailyNews.com for details.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
DIPLOMACY
ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Margarian said his country's closed
border with Turkey might be opened by the end of the year.
The current situation is ripe for the normalization of
Turkish-Armenian relations, Margarian said at a press conference in
Armenia late Thursday.
He emphasized that every effort should be made by the end of the year
to ensure the re-opening of the border and establishment of diplomatic
relations between the two neighbors.
The border has been closed for more than a decade. Turkey closed the
gate and severed diplomatic ties with Armenia after Armenian troops
occupied the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Ankara now
says normalization of ties depends on Armenian withdrawal from
Nagorno-Karabakh as well as progress on a series of bilateral issues,
including Armenia's support of Armenian diaspora efforts to secure
international recognition for an alleged genocide of Armenians at the
hands of the late Ottoman Empire.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent a letter to
Armenian President Robert Kocharian proposing that a joint commission
of historians study the allegations, but Kocharian instead called for
the establishment of an inter-governmental group that would look into
ways to normalize ties.
Heikki Talvitie, the European Union's special representative for the
South Caucasus, said a reopening of the border gate was not likely
before the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute was resolved.
I don't think the Turkey-Armenia border would be opened before first
steps are taken for a solution in Nagorno-Karabakh, the Anatolia news
agency quoted Talvitie as saying after talks with Azerbaijani
officials in Baku.
-----------
Copyright 2005, Turkish Daily News. This article is redistributed with
permission for personal use of Groong readers. No part of this article
may be reproduced, further distributed or archived without the prior
permission of the publisher. Contact Turkish Daily News Online at
http://www.TurkishDailyNews.com for details.