Turkish expert: Gul did his best to thaw ice between Armenia and TurkeySeptember 9, 2008 - 14:48 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey and Armenia took a step to normalize relations after long years of dispute, a Turkish Professor said."Though some political parties and politicians strongly opposed President Gul traveling to Yerevan, both the government and the president did their best to thaw the ice between the two countries. Gul's visit to Armenia was met with satisfaction by the Turkish nation. To me, this visit may be a turning point in Turkish-Armenian relations," Ozer Sencar said. "Our people are tired of disputes with Armenia, which are of no benefit to Turkey. We have had an ongoing debate with Armenia for 80 years. People don't want events dating back to the Ottoman times to affect their lives any longer. This is why they attach such great importance to Gul's visit to Yerevan," he added. Professor Eser Karakas, a columnist for the Star daily, said the visit was a huge step toward resolution of problems between the two neighbors. "This is a significant step of goodwill. It would be great if both countries reinforced this step with similar ones in the future. It may not solve all problems between Turkey and Armenia but may at least help Turkey open its border with its neighbor," he said, adding, "People of the two countries do not miss an opportunity to say that they don't have any problems with each other. It is the states which have problems," Today's Zaman reports. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |