World
Armenia and Turkey sign peace deal
Armenia's Foreign Minister Edouard Nalbandian (left) shakes hands with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu after the signing ceremony of a peace deal between the two countries as Switzerlands Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey (2nd L), France's Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner (centre), US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (right) clap in Zurich October 10, 2009. REUTERS
Posted Sunday, October 11 2009 at 12:12
"The signature of the protocols confirms the desire of both Turkey and Armenia to turn a page and build a new future. This opens new perspectives for the solution of conflicts, notably in Nagorno-Karabakh," EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said in a statement.
Although landlocked Armenia stands to make big gains, opening its impoverished economy to trade and investment, Armenia's leader Serzh Sarksyan faces protests at home and from the huge Armenian diaspora, which views the thaw with suspicion.
Armenians demand that Turkey acknowledge the 1915 killings as genocide, a defining element in Armenian national identity.
"Any relations with Turkey cannot call into question that genocide was committed against the Armenian people. This should be recognised and condemned by humankind," Sarksyan said in a televised address before the ceremony.
Under the deal, Turkey and Armenia will set up a commission of international experts to study the events.
Nationalist lawmakers in Turkey have pledged to vote against the deal, and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said earlier this year he would not open the border until Yerevan ended what he called its occupation of Azerbaijan.
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