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International Business Times
June 16 2011
Armenia Ready To Establish Ties With Turkey: PM
June 16, 2011 3:34 PM EDT
Armenia is prepared to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey
without any pre-conditions, said Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sarkisian.
Turkey, which just re-elected Recep Tayyip Erdošan to an unprecedented
third term as Prime Minister, should move toward rapprochement, the
Armenian leader added.
Sarkisian also suggested that the border between the Turkey and
Atmenia - closed since 1993 - should be re-opened.
"Having closed borders in the 21st Century is nonsense," Sarkisian told the BBC.
In 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed a historic pact to re-establish
ties, but that deal broke down after Erdogan demanded that Armenia
resolve its conflicts with its neighbor to the east, Azerbaijan over
the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia and Azerbaijan started a war in 1988 over the disputed land.
That conflict ended un a ceasefire in 1994, but the two nations are
still technically at war (there have been periodic clashes ever
since).
More than 25,000 people dies in the war and one million people became homeless.
It is unclear whether or not Erdogan has changed his stance on this subject.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an area in southwestern Azerbaijan, which is
dominated by ethnic Armenians.
Meanwhile, Sarkisian warned that if Azerbaijan sought to seize
Nagorno-Karabakh by military force he was prepared to launch another
war.
"We have a bellicose partner [Azerbaijan]," Sarkisian said, according to BBC.
"So the only way to ensure there is peace in the region is to be
prepared for war. The balance of power in the region needs to remain
intact."
A spokesman for the Azerbaijan foreign ministry told BBC: "We are
committed to peace negotiations, and this process is underway, but we
can't be holding talks for the sake of talks. Armenia has to withdraw
its army from the region first - that will help put an end to
war-mongering rhetoric."
The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in late June in
Kazan, Russia to find a solution to their crisis. Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev will chair that conference.
Aside from the Nagorno-Karabakh affair, Turkey and Armenia have much
bigger concerns - namely, Armenia's frustration and anger over
Turkey's refusal to admit that its government committed genocide
against its Armenian population during World War I.
As many as 1.5-million Armenians are believed to have been murdered by
the Ottoman Turks. However, Ankara has long claimed that the deaths
arose from war, famine and disease.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/164229/20110616/armenia-turkey-azerbaijan-sarkisian.htm
June 16 2011
Armenia Ready To Establish Ties With Turkey: PM
June 16, 2011 3:34 PM EDT
Armenia is prepared to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey
without any pre-conditions, said Armenian Prime Minister Tigran
Sarkisian.
Turkey, which just re-elected Recep Tayyip Erdošan to an unprecedented
third term as Prime Minister, should move toward rapprochement, the
Armenian leader added.
Sarkisian also suggested that the border between the Turkey and
Atmenia - closed since 1993 - should be re-opened.
"Having closed borders in the 21st Century is nonsense," Sarkisian told the BBC.
In 2009, Turkey and Armenia signed a historic pact to re-establish
ties, but that deal broke down after Erdogan demanded that Armenia
resolve its conflicts with its neighbor to the east, Azerbaijan over
the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Armenia and Azerbaijan started a war in 1988 over the disputed land.
That conflict ended un a ceasefire in 1994, but the two nations are
still technically at war (there have been periodic clashes ever
since).
More than 25,000 people dies in the war and one million people became homeless.
It is unclear whether or not Erdogan has changed his stance on this subject.
Nagorno-Karabakh is an area in southwestern Azerbaijan, which is
dominated by ethnic Armenians.
Meanwhile, Sarkisian warned that if Azerbaijan sought to seize
Nagorno-Karabakh by military force he was prepared to launch another
war.
"We have a bellicose partner [Azerbaijan]," Sarkisian said, according to BBC.
"So the only way to ensure there is peace in the region is to be
prepared for war. The balance of power in the region needs to remain
intact."
A spokesman for the Azerbaijan foreign ministry told BBC: "We are
committed to peace negotiations, and this process is underway, but we
can't be holding talks for the sake of talks. Armenia has to withdraw
its army from the region first - that will help put an end to
war-mongering rhetoric."
The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will meet in late June in
Kazan, Russia to find a solution to their crisis. Russian President
Dmitry Medvedev will chair that conference.
Aside from the Nagorno-Karabakh affair, Turkey and Armenia have much
bigger concerns - namely, Armenia's frustration and anger over
Turkey's refusal to admit that its government committed genocide
against its Armenian population during World War I.
As many as 1.5-million Armenians are believed to have been murdered by
the Ottoman Turks. However, Ankara has long claimed that the deaths
arose from war, famine and disease.
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/164229/20110616/armenia-turkey-azerbaijan-sarkisian.htm