Torrent of bitterness on the Turkey-Armenia border

There is more than the River Araxe separating the villages of Halikislak in Turkey and Bagaran in Armenia — a sealed border and a torrent of animosity divides their countries.

The 300 people in Halikislak and 700 in Bagaran are never allowed to meet. But hopes of an end to the isolation have been raised on both sides by an accord announced this week by the governments of Armenia and Turkey to move to end their century of hostility.

Memories of the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire run deep between the countries even though the villages either side of the river have much in common. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: International Press No Comments » April 2009

PM Erdogan soothes Azerbaijan’s concerns over Turkey-Armenia thaw

Turkey said it will be difficult to overcome problems with Armenia unless Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved, in a bid to soothe Azerbaijan’s concerns.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul late Wednesday that his country faces difficulty stemming from an ongoing process that has continued between Azerbaijan and Armenia for years.

“It is difficult to overcome problems between Turkey and Armenia unless the Azerbaijani-Armenian dispute is resolved. We hope that the U.N. Security Council will acknowledge Armenia as an occupier in Nagorno-Karabakh and make a decision to call on Armenia to withdraw from the region. The Minsk Group has been trying to resolve that dispute for more than 17 years,” he said. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by admin Posted in: Turkish Press No Comments » April 2009