Turkish foreign minister confirms talks with Armenian officials

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan confirmed Friday that Turkey and Armenia held a series of secret meetings in the capital of Switzerland on July 8. A high-level official from the Foreign Ministry headed the Turkish delegation during the talks which led to a positive atmosphere between the two countries, Hurriyet daily reports.



This meeting came after Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's proposal for "a fresh start" with the goal of normalizing relations with Turkey and opening the border.



Sargsyan also invited Turkish President Abdullah Gul to watch a football match between the two country's national teams on Sept 6 to mark "a new symbolic start in the two countries' relations".



Turkish officials said the invitation has been evaluated and did not rule out accepting it since it would not be an official visit.



Ertugrul Ozkok, editor-in-chief of Hurriyet daily, wrote in his column that a high-level official from the foreign ministry confirmed the report, but asked not to publish the story. "He told me that if the story is published, then it would be formally denied," Ozkok wrote in his column.