Oskanian: Turkey must first open borders to establish normal relations with Armenia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian currently in Istanbul participating in the BSECO jubilee summit, called on Turkey to open the Armenian border, which is closed since 1993. "If you really treat the dialog between Yerevan and Ankara seriously, would you be so kind as to first open the border. If the Armenian-Turkish border is open, the Armenian side will be ready to form any commission on the governmental level to discuss those issues, which currently hamper normalization of relations between our countries," Vartan Oskanian underscored.



Commenting on his meeting with Turkish FM Abdullah Gul yesterday, the Armenian Foreign Minister said, unfortunately no changes are observed in Turkey's policy and it continues to put forward preconditions for normalizing relations with Armenia. In his words, as democratic countries, Armenia and Turkey must be able to settle existing problems in civilized way. Vartan Oskanian also noted during his meeting with A. Gul he familiarized him with the latest developments of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process and Armenia's stance on the issue. "After the meeting between Armenian and Azeri presidents in St. Petersburg various comments were made. Baku is trying to find those who it considers guilty, making various comments. And consequently, Turkey must listen and to our position in order to make a just conclusion," the RA FM underscored.