GUL TO SEND CONCILIATORY MESSAGE TO ARMENIA

Turkey’s President Abdullah Gul will send neighboring Armenia a conciliatory message wrapped in a warning over regional isolation when he visits the Turkish-Armenian border next week. Gul will visit Ani, an uninhabited medieval Armenian city in the province of Kars on the Armenia border, on July 23, during a visit to the region to attend a ceremony to inaugurate the construction of the Turkish part of a regional railway passing through Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan; the line excludes Armenia. The presidents of Azerbaijan and Georgia will also attend the inauguration ceremony, scheduled for July 24, Today’s Zaman reports. “Despite Turkish efforts to deepen cooperation with other regional countries at the expense of landlocked Armenia, Gul’s visit to Ani is a sign of readiness to improve ties with Yerevan. Armenia wants Turkey to restore medieval churches in Ani and Turkish authorities began renovation works in the city early this year,” the newspaper says. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday appeared to confirm a report in the Turkish media that Turkish and Armenian officials had secret talks in Switzerland earlier this month. The report in the Hurriyet daily said the officials met for a few days starting on July 8 and that a senior Foreign Ministry official headed the Turkish delegation. “Such talks are held from time to time,” Babacan told reporters. Turkey imposed blockage on Armenia as a token of support to Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh issue. Ankara also urges Armenia to stop the Armenian Genocide recognition process and says that both Armenians and Turks died during the World War I. “We have problems about current issues and disagreements about the 1915 events. It is essential that these problems are handled through dialogue,” Babacan said. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan proposed “a fresh start” in relations with Turkey in an article published in The Wall Street Journal earlier this month. “The time has come for a fresh effort to break this deadlock, a situation that helps no one and hurts many. As president of Armenia, I take this opportunity to propose a fresh start - a new phase of dialogue with the government and people of Turkey, with the goal of normalizing relations and opening our common border,” he said. Sargsyan also invited Gul to a World Cup qualifying match between Armenian and Turkish teams in September. Officials say the invitation is still under consideration and that the president will decide according to developments. During a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, Gul said that Sargsyan’s invitation is being considered.

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