Turkey doesn't need Iran's mediation for normalization of ties with Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ankara said Friday it is already in direct contact with Yerevan to normalize bilateral ties, implying that the involvement of any third countries is not necessary.



"We would only be pleased with the efforts of third parties for the improvement of Turkey's ties with Armenia, but we are already meeting with Armenia directly toward the normalization of relations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin told reporters at a weekly press conference.



Asked if the Turkish president would go to Yerevan to watch the Turkish-Armenian football match in September, he said the Foreign Ministry is awaiting instruction from Abdullah Gul. In response to another question, Ozugergin said Armenia's invitation has been extended to Turkey through official channels, Turkish Daily News reports.



Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki offered his country's mediation for Armenia-Turkey reconciliation during a phone conversation with RA FM Edward Nalbandian.



Turkey severed its ties and closed its border with Armenia in 1993 as a token of solidarity with Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh issue.



Ankara also says the normalization of ties depends on Armenia's formal recognition of the current borders with Turkey and changing its policy of calling for worldwide recognition of the Armenian Genocide at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.



In a sign of readiness to normalize ties, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan proposed "a fresh start" in relations with Turkey in an article published in The Wall Street Journal earlier this month. Sargsyan also invited Gul to a World Cup qualifying match between Armenian and Turkish teams on September 6.
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