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Turkey hopes to open Armenian border by year-end
Tue Sep 1, 2009 2:09pm EDT
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By Zerin Elci
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Turkey said on Tuesday it hoped to open its border with long-time foe Armenia by the end of the year under a protocol to establish diplomatic ties, in what would end one of Europe's most intractable rivalries.
The two countries, which have no diplomatic ties and a history of animosity stemming from the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War One, announced late on Monday they would sign accords within six weeks under a plan to end a century of hostility.
"If everything goes as planned, if mutual steps are taken, the borders could be opened around New Year," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told Turkish NTV television during a visit to northern Cyprus.
The plan to normalize ties was announced in April, but Monday's statement marked the first real progress.
Reopening the border and establishing ties with Armenia would increase predominantly Muslim Turkey's influence in the region and aid its faltering bid to join the European Union.
Ties would also give landlocked Armenia, reeling from the global financial crisis, access to Turkish and European markets.
The EU, which has long asked candidate member Turkey to normalize ties with its neighbor as a way to improve regional security, welcomed the protocol agreement and urged Ankara and Yerevan to implement the protocols rapidly.
"This agreement should contribute to peace and stability in the South Caucasus," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a statement.
Under the agreement, both sides would hold domestic consultations before signing two protocols on the establishment of diplomatic ties and the development of bilateral relations.
The protocols would have to be ratified by the parliaments of the two countries.
In his first comment on the issue, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stressed that the accords would not go into effect until the Turkish parliament had approved them.
Russia, which has good relations both with Turkey and Armenia, hailed progress in their talks as a major boon for peace and stability in the region.
"We hope that the improvement of two neighbors'' relations will revive bilateral trade and economic contacts and will have a positive impact on the social and economic situation in both states, which is important in conditions of the global financial crisis," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
TURKEY DENIES GENOCIDE
Turkey rejects claims 1915 killings amounted to genocide, and says many people were killed on both sides of the conflict. Continued...
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