Turkish President: My Visit to Armenia Shook The Status-Quo On The Caucasus.

“The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict stems from keeping the existing status-quo,” Turkish president Abdulla Gul said at a press conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, as reported by Regnum information agency with a reference to TRT Turkish TV.

According to him, the status-quo is nobody’s interest. “My visit to Armenia has, to some extent, shaken that status-quo. A mild but categorical policy has to be applied. If nothing changes within the next two years then nothing will change in the following decade either. Everything will remain the way it is, and none of the sides will gain anything form that,” said Gul.  Read more... (170 words)

Medvedev Optimistic About Armenian-Turkish Relations, Karabakh Settlement

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday he hoped Turkey and Armenia will be able to “restore full-fledged relations”, reports Russian news agency Itar-Tass.

“We are closely watching the development of relations [between Ankara and Yerevan] and hope the positive momentum gained after the signing of relevant documents in Zurich will go on,” Medvedev told a news conference after his talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul. Although, Medvedev noted, “the process of mending relations between the two countries are not easy and find different response in Turkey and Armenia.”  Read more... (212 words)

Bashar al-Asad and Abdullah Gul Discussed Armenia-Turkey Relations

In a two-day visit to Turkey Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul discussed issues pertaining the Armenia-Turkey relations, local Turkish daily Sabah reports.

With Turkey-Syria bilateral relations on the agenda al-Asad and Gul touched upon issues such as the recent developments in the Armenia-Turkey normalization, Syria-Iran, Syria-Azerbaijan and Syria-Israel relations, as well as the current situation in the Middle East.

Al-Asad drew attention to the importance of the development of relations between Turkey and Armenia in the Caucasus.

According to Sabah Bashar al-Asad held a meeting also with the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The paper mentions no other details as to whether or not they discussed the Armenia-Turkey normalization.  Read more... (147 words)

100,000 Illegal Armenians in Turkey? Not True, Says Abdullah Gül

The number of illegal Armenians in Turkey as stated by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is not accurate, said President of Turkey Abdullah Gül, reports Turkish daily Hürriyet, commenting on Erdoğan’s recent statement that he would deport all illegal Armenians living in Turkey should the Armenian Diaspora make efforts to have more parliaments adopt resolutions recognizing the Armenian Genocide.

“The prime minister just wanted to present, on that issue, Turkey’s positive approach. The real number is not 100,000. It’s less than that. The prime minister, in an effort to explain that there is no hatred towards those who work in such a way in Turkey, used that example,” said the Turkish president.  Read more... (238 words)

Gul Responded: Turkey ‘Committed’ To Deal With Armenia

President Abdullah Gul on Thursday assured his Armenian counterpart, Serzh Sarkisian, that Turkey remains committed to the agreements to normalize relations with Armenia but did not specify whether it will unconditionally ratify them anytime soon.

“I welcome the thoughts conveyed to us in your message,” Gul responded to the Armenian leader in a message posted on his website. He said Sarkisian “should have no doubt” about the Turkish government’s determination to promote “mutual understanding and trust among our two neighboring peoples.”  Read more... (376 words)

Sarkisian Urges Turkey To Honor Armenia Deal in a Massage To Gul

President Serzh Sarkisian urged Turkey on Tuesday to comply with its fence-mending agreements with Armenia, warning that any further delay could roll back the “historic” rapprochement between the two nations.

It was a clear reference to the mandatory ratification by the Turkish parliament of the two “protocols” that commit Ankara and Yerevan to establish diplomatic relations and open the Turkish-Armenian border. Turkish leaders have repeatedly made the ratification conditional on a breakthrough in the protracted international efforts to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  Read more... (535 words)

Gul gives Kremlin a bell on Turkish-Russian Ties, Touches on Karabakh

Turkish President Abdullah Gul initiated a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Saturday during which, as reported by Dmitry Medvedev’s press service, the sides also touched on the Nagorno-Karabakh process and confirmed the Russian leader’s visit to Turkey in May.

According to the Russian president’s official web portal (www.kremlin.ru), the two presidents “discussed Russo-Turkish cooperation in international affairs” and “while exchanging views on the situation in the South Caucasus, Mr. Gul praised Russia’s contribution to international efforts to achieve progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement.”  Read more... (593 words)

Turkey and Israel Resolve to Restore Relations

Turkish President Abdullah Gul will visit Israel in an effort to repair strained relations between the two countries, a statement by Israeli President Shimon Peres’s office said on Friday, reports Reuters.

The two leaders met at the U.N. climate summit in Copenhagen on Friday and the statement, issued in Jerusalem, said they had resolved “to restore Israel-Turkey relations to their stable, positive past.” It did not say when the visit might take place.

Relations between the two regional powers have soured since Israel launched an three-week military offensive in the Gaza Strip last December.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose ruling party traces its roots to a banned Islamist movement, has repeatedly criticised the operation, even having a public shouting match with Peres during a panel discussion in Switzerland in January.  Read more... (138 words)

Abdullah Gul: “That Obstacle Will Soon Be Overcome”

“Turkey stands firm in solving issues with its neighboring countries,” Turkish President Abdulla Gul announced in the interview with the Italian “La Stampa” newspaper.

Touching upon the Kurdish and Armenian issues, Gul underscored: “Taboos are eliminated when democracy increases in the country.”

“When will Turkish and Armenian citizens finally be able to cross the common border?” In response, the Turkish President said:

“That obstacle will soon be overcome in the result of the Turkey-Armenia Protocols. Of course, there are still certain technical issues to solve because the Protocols must be ratified by both parliaments. But after that, there will be an exchange of ambassadors and the opening of the land border. The air border has been open for a long time now.”  Read more... (323 words)