Sarkisian hopes to open borders
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 11, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Armenian President Serge Sarkisian said he hopes the Armenian-Turkish border will reopen before Oct. 7 when a return football match between the national teams of the two countries will take place, according to a report Friday.
"Armenia and Turkey are approaching the final stage of negotiations. As you know, we agreed to start negotiations with Turkey without preconditions," PanArmenian.net quoted Sarkisian as saying in an interview with Russia's Vesti TV Channel. Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations and their border has been closed since 1993 when Armenia invaded 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory known as Nagorno-Karabakh.
Recognize the Azeri border
Ankara and Yerevan, however, have been engaged in a normalization process, including the reopening of the border, since Turkish President Abdullah Gül paid a landmark visit to Armenia last year to watch a World Cup qualifying football match between the countries’ national teams.
Meanwhile Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Friday that it would be wrong for Turkey to take any steps regarding the Armenian issue before progress is made regarding the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He said first Armenia must recognize the borders with Turkey and end its occupation on the Azerbaijani territory.
Recognize the Azeri border
Ankara and Yerevan, however, have been engaged in a normalization process, including the reopening of the border, since Turkish President Abdullah Gül paid a landmark visit to Armenia last year to watch a World Cup qualifying football match between the countries’ national teams.
Meanwhile Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Friday that it would be wrong for Turkey to take any steps regarding the Armenian issue before progress is made regarding the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He said first Armenia must recognize the borders with Turkey and end its occupation on the Azerbaijani territory.