Turkey and Armenia agree to normalize relations

Aug 31, 2009, 21:31 GMT

Istanbul - Turkey and Armenia agreed Monday to resume diplomatic relations after decades of hostility between the neighbours.

Under Swiss mediation, delegations from both countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations and begin bilateral cooperation and political proceedings, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. The agreement is to be signed by the parliaments of both nations in six weeks.

Ankara and Yerevan broke off relations in 1993 when Turkey closed its border with Armenia after it invaded the Azerbaijan territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. But the animosity goes backs decades further to what Armenia alleges was the genocide of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Turks during World War I.

Turkey insists only 200,000 were killed and fiercely rejects suggestions that the killings were a genocide. While admitting that massacres did take place, Turkey says they did not constitute genocide but were instead the result of a civil uprising when Armenians joined forces with invading Russians.

The issue has threatened diplomatic relations between Turkey and third countries, with Ankara warning that use of the term genocide would have severe consequences on diplomatic relations.

Under the agreeement, the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia would then follow at a 'logical time point.' Both sides agreed in April to a road map to normalize relations with an eye on peace, security and stability in the region.

President Abdullah Gul was the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia last September when his Armenian colleague Serzh Sargsian invited him to the qualifying match between the countries for the 2010 World Cup. Sargsian had earlier said the recognition of an Armenian genocide by Turkey was not a condition for improved relations.