Turkey and Armenia Forming Ties, Step By Step

secret talks being held between Turkey and Armenia was confirmed by a

statement made by an Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, despite

Ankara’s caution in elaborating on the details of the talks.

Talks are being held in a central European city, possibly Geneva, as

a preparation for meetings between Ismail Cem and Vartan Oskanyan,

the Turkish and Armenian foriegn minsters.

Turkish diplomats involved in the issue were reluctant to outline the

details of the talks and expressed uneasiness over the press interest

in the issue. “We have to continue our work, however, the focus of

the press on the process makes things difficult,” a Turkish official

was quoted as saying.

The Turkish press was first to report on the secret talks, however,

Armenian officials did not lose time in confirming the historical

meetings held by Ertan Tezgor of the Turkish Foreign Ministry and

Karen Mirzoyan of the Armenian Foriegn Ministry.

As the Karabakh problem is about to be solved, and as the new

political environment in the aftermath of September 11 has enabled

the improvement of ties between Ankara and Yerevan, efforts have been

intensified.

Kocharian as a figure of solution?

“We are now in the final stage of finding the ultimate solution to

the Karabagh problem”, Armenian President Robert Kocharian announced

in his interview to “Sovetskaya Belarus.”

Robert Kocharian said that the issue was being actively discussed

with Ajerbaijani president: “A year ago we thought we were close to

the solution. Yet something did not work.”

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk

Group is continuing its efforts for solution to the Karabakh

conflict.

Its co-chairmen will meet in Lisbon in June. The acting OSCE Chairman

and Portugese Foreign Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz said that he

intended to discuss the resolution of the Karabagh conflict with the

Russian administration during its visit to Moscow on June 27.

Despite the general belief that the former President Levon

Ter-Petrosian was amenable to Turkey, a key figure in the improvemnt

of relations between Ankara and Yerevan, Kaan Soyak of the

Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council, commented that it was

during Kocharian’s rule that important steps have been taken in the

improvement of relations between the two countries, including the

establishment of bridges between the scientific and public structures

of the two countries.

“This circumstance proves there has been no deterioration in our

relations. I believe in their future,” he said, in an interview with

Armenian daily Azg.