YEREVAN, Armenia (AFP)--Resolving the dispute between Armenia and Turkey is in the interest of both countries, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian said Tuesday following a rare meeting with his Turkish counterpart.
"The full-scale settlement of Armenian-Turkish relations is in the interests of the two countries and the two peoples," Nalbandian said in a statement after a two-and-a-half hour meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan on Monday.
"Dialogue between Armenia and Turkey is aimed particularly at establishing diplomatic relations and at opening borders. This must not be considered as a favour to be given to Armenia because this is of no less interest to Turkey," Nalbandian said.
Nalbandian was in Turkey Monday for a one-day visit to the headquarters of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation - whose rotating six-month presidency Armenia took over on November 1 - and for talks with Babacan.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic ties and their border has been closed for more than a decade.
Even though Turkey was one of the first countries to recognise Armenia when it gained independence in 1991, Ankara has refused to establish diplomatic ties because of Yerevan's campaign to have the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I classified as a genocide.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their people were systematically killed by Ottoman Turks between 1915 and 1917 as their empire fell apart - a claim supported by several other countries.
Turkey rejects the genocide label and argues that between 300,000 and 500,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died in civil strife.
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 25, 2008 10:25 ET (15:25 GMT)

Publié le 25 novembre 2008 Copyright © 2008 Dowjones