Armenia and Turkey agreed today to establish diplomatic relations, overcoming a seemingly intractable rift that dates to the early 20th century and was marked by massacres of Armenians under Ottoman rule.
The neighboring countries will be setting up and developing relations for the first time, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Ozugergin said. It is unclear, however, if the talks will touch on the dispute over the World War I-era killings.
The issue is a major stumbling block to Turkey's aspirations to join the European Union and has strained ties with the United States. Historians estimate that, in the last days of the Ottoman Empire, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in what is widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th Century.
Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, contending the toll has been inflated and that the casualties were victims of civil war. It says Turks also suffered losses in the hands of Armenian gangs.
Turkey and Armenia also disagree about Armenian forces' control of the Arzerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey is a close ally of Azerbaijan and back Baku's claims to the region, which has a high number of ethnic Armenian residents but is located within Azerbaijan's borders.
Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Armenia's independence in 1991, but the two countries never established diplomatic relations and their joint border has been closed since 1993.
Ties began to improve after a so-called soccer diplomacy campaign last year, when Turkish President Abdullah Gul attended a World Cup qualifier in Armenia.
Armenia's President Serge Sarkisian has said he wants significant progress on reopening their shared border before he will agree to attend a World Cup qualifying match in Turkey on Oct. 14.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry said the upcoming talks, agreed to after mediation by Switzerland, should last about six weeks.
Armenian political commentator Artyom Yerkanian, speaking during a special TV broadcast, suggested the agreement to establish ties could be signed at the October soccer match.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy welcomed the announcement, saying in a statement that "normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey would constitute an event of historic import that would contribute to regional stability." Sarkozy opposes Turkey's entry into the EU.
Establishing ties with Armenia is important for Turkey - a country that is playing an ever increasing role as a regional mediator and powerbroker.
Turkey has mediated indirect talks between Syria and Israel, and hosted Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as well as EU leaders separately for talks on proposed pipeline projects to bring energy supplies to the West. Earlier Monday, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu visited Iraq and Syria to try and defuse diplomatic tensions over Baghdad's demand that Damascus extradite two suspects wanted in a recent suicide attacks on government ministries.
AP