ARMENIA, TURKEY SET FOR MORE TALKS

Official Yerevan confirmed on Friday that Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian will visit Istanbul early next week, giving more credence to reports that Armenia and Turkey are close to normalizing their historically strained relations. The official purpose of Nalbandian’s trip announced by his press office is to participate in the second Alliance of Civilizations conference that begins its work in Turkey’s largest city on Monday. The UN-sponsored forum is to be attended by heads of states and other high-ranking representatives of some 30 countries. Diplomatic sources in Yerevan said Nalbandian will likely meet with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan on the sidelines of the gathering. The two men have held a dozen face-to-face meetings since the start of the unprecedented Turkish-Armenian rapprochement about a year ago. Their fresh talks will come on the heels of Western and Turkish media reports that Ankara and Yerevan are poised to announce an agreement that commits them to gradually establishing full diplomatic relations and reopening their border. According to some Turkish newspapers, the agreement could be signed during or shortly after Nalbandian’s trip to Istanbul. The Armenian Foreign Ministry would not comment on these reports on Friday. A ministry spokesman, Tigran Balayan, said only that it is “cautiously optimistic” about the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations. “Armenia has gone a long way in negotiating with Turkey, and we hope to bring our constructive dialogue to a logical conclusion,” he told RFE/RL. Incidentally, U.S. President Barack Obama will also be in Turkey on April 6-7. Turkish-Armenian relations are expected to be on the agenda of his talks with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkish leaders hope that the prospect of their normalization will discourage Obama from honoring his election campaign pledges to recognizes the 1915 mass killings of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide. (Photolur photo)

<< | Home | >>

Translate

RSS © Armenialiberty

Headlines for April 03, 2009

ARMENIA, IRAN AGREE ON AMBITIOUS RAIL LINK
By Emil Danielyan 1
Armenia and Iran on Friday formalized their plans to construct a railway that would connect the two neighboring countries and significantly boost economic cooperation between them. The Armenian and Iranian ...
ARMENIA, TURKEY SET FOR MORE TALKS
Official Yerevan confirmed on Friday that Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian will visit Istanbul early next week, giving more credence to reports that Armenia and Turkey are close to normalizing their ...
SENIOR JUDGE DEFENDS OPPOSITION VERDICTS
By Hovannes Shoghikian
A high-ranking Armenian judge denied on Friday any political motives behind prison sentences given by local courts to dozens of opposition members arrested following last year’s presidential election. ...