Turkish foreign minister confirms direct talks with Armenian officials

"Turkey is a country which recognizes Armenia. We hold meetings and consultations with our Armenian interlocutors from time to time," Ali Babacan told in a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart, when asked about Hurriyet's report.

 

Turkey and Armenia held a series of secret meetings in the capital of Switzerland on July 8. A high-level official from the Foreign Ministry headed the Turkish delegation during the talks which led to a positive atmosphere between the two countries, according to a report in Hurriyet daily.

 

This meeting came after Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's proposal for "a fresh start" with the goal of normalizing relations with Turkey and opening the border. Sargsyan also invited Turkish President Abdullah Gul to watch a football match between the two country's national teams on Sept 6 to mark "a new symbolic start in the two countries' relations". Â

 

Turkish officials told Hurriyet the invitation has been evaluated and did not rule out accepting it since it would not be an official visit. Ertugrul Ozkok, editor-in-chief of Hurriyet daily, wrote in his column that a high-level official from the foreign ministry confirmed the report, but asked not to publish the story.

 

 

Turkey is among the first countries that recognized Armenia when it declared its independency. However there is no diplomatic relations between two countries, as Armenia presses the international community to admit the so-called "genocide" claims instead of accepting Turkey's call to investigate the allegations, and its invasion of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory despite U.N. Security Council resolutions on the issue.