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Agence France Presse
June 22, 2010 Tuesday 2:36 PM GMT
Armenia says new Turkish foreign policy 'regrettable'
BERLIN, June 22 2010
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said Tuesday that he thought a
perceived new direction in Turkish foreign policy was undermining any
easing of tensions between the neighbours.
"This new path offers little grounds for optimism and is regrettable,"
he told reporters after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in
Berlin.
"Current Turkish policy is not contributing to greater openness in our
relations."
European and US officials have shown growing concern in recent months
over Ankara purportedly turning "eastwards" by no longer reliably
backing US diplomacy and due to its worsening relations with Israel.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were systematically
killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of
modern Turkey, was falling apart.
Turkey fiercely rejects the genocide label and the dispute has
poisoned relations between the two countries for decades.
Armenia and Turkey signed a landmark deal in October to establish
diplomatic ties and reopen their border.
But ratification of the deal faltered amid mutual recriminations that
the other side was not committed to reconciliation and Armenia in
April announced it was removing the agreement from its parliament's
agenda.
Sarkisian said in Berlin that Turkish-Armenian relations "will not be
able to evolve unless a great political will is there and we have not
seen that will on the Turkish side."
From: A. Papazian
June 22, 2010 Tuesday 2:36 PM GMT
Armenia says new Turkish foreign policy 'regrettable'
BERLIN, June 22 2010
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said Tuesday that he thought a
perceived new direction in Turkish foreign policy was undermining any
easing of tensions between the neighbours.
"This new path offers little grounds for optimism and is regrettable,"
he told reporters after talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in
Berlin.
"Current Turkish policy is not contributing to greater openness in our
relations."
European and US officials have shown growing concern in recent months
over Ankara purportedly turning "eastwards" by no longer reliably
backing US diplomacy and due to its worsening relations with Israel.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kin were systematically
killed between 1915 and 1917 as the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of
modern Turkey, was falling apart.
Turkey fiercely rejects the genocide label and the dispute has
poisoned relations between the two countries for decades.
Armenia and Turkey signed a landmark deal in October to establish
diplomatic ties and reopen their border.
But ratification of the deal faltered amid mutual recriminations that
the other side was not committed to reconciliation and Armenia in
April announced it was removing the agreement from its parliament's
agenda.
Sarkisian said in Berlin that Turkish-Armenian relations "will not be
able to evolve unless a great political will is there and we have not
seen that will on the Turkish side."
From: A. Papazian