Armenia and Turkey Hold Secret Talks, Turkish Sources Say

PanARMENIAN.Net - Secret talks between Turkey and Armenia, launched after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan wrote a letter to Armenian President Robert Kocharian, have failed to make any headway coming out of their third round. A part of the third session of secret talks was held on the sidelines of the Turkey-European Union Troika meeting in Vienna, Austria last March. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul closely followed the meetings with Armenian officials that were kept secret from the media, CNN-Turk reported. Sources say that the Armenian response reached Ankara early this month to Turkey's suggestion for the establishment of two committees to discuss mutual relations wasn't welcomed, and the answer "to the Turkish suggestions that they received was watered down."



The Turkish side had proposed the establishment of two committees to simultaneously hold talks on political issues and the Armenian Genocide. In response, Yerevan rejected the Turkish suggestions. It underlined that scholars can debate the issue in conferences. Nevertheless Armenia did request the revival of political talks between the two countries. Following Yerevan's objection to the establishment of the two committees, including one comprised of historians from both countries to study the Armenian genocide claims, Ankara is now preparing for the fourth round of secret talks. Foreign Ministry officials underlined that continued debates over the genocide claims have "poisoned" Turkey's relations with other countries. Ankara will continue to exert effort to find a middle ground and to solve its problems with Yerevan, they added, reported The New Anatolian.