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ANKARA: Turkish, Armenian Diplomats Discuss Normalizing Ties

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  • ANKARA: Turkish, Armenian Diplomats Discuss Normalizing Ties

    TURKISH, ARMENIAN DIPLOMATS DISCUSS NORMALIZING TIES

    Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
    June 1 2006

    Turkish and Armenian officials on Wednesday discussed the possibility
    of normalizing relations, despite the fact that the two countries do
    not have diplomatic ties.

    This is the third round of talks since a dialogue was opened by
    an exchange of letters between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
    Erdogan and Armenian President Robert Kocharian in April 2005.

    A spokesman of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Namik Tan, said Turkey
    is determined to pursue a normalization of relations, but also called
    on Armenia to show more flexibility.

    In 1993, Turkey shut its border with Armenia in a show of solidarity
    with Azerbaijan in the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

    Ties have also been strained by Armenian efforts to win international
    recognition of the 1915-17 killings of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey
    as genocide.

    The day also saw a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
    Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart, Abdullah Gul. Lavrov will then
    meet with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer,

    The agenda of the talks were expected to include the standoff over
    Iran's disputed nuclear program.

    Both Russia and Turkey have trade links with Iran and fear that an
    escalation of the crisis could further destabilize the region.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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