Turkey, Armenia in pact on road map

April 23, 2009|Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey and Armenia have agreed on a road map for normalizing relations and reaching reconciliation, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said yesterday, but it wasn't immediately clear how they would tackle their bitter dispute over Ottoman-era killings of ethnic Armenians.

Turkish officials would not discuss that issue and the ministry statement said only the two countries had worked out a framework for reaching a solution that would satisfy both sides. There was no immediate comment from Armenia's government.

Armenia says 1.5 million Armenians were slain by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I in what Armenians and several other nations recognize as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey vehemently rejects the allegation, saying that the death toll was inflated and that Armenians died in civil unrest as the Ottoman Empire collapsed.

The announcement came just weeks after President Obama, during a visit to Turkey, called on his hosts to come to terms with the past, resolve its dispute with Armenia and reopen the border.

Obama avoided the term "genocide" when he addressed Turkish lawmakers. But he said, in response to a question, that he had not changed his views on the question. As a presidential candidate, Obama said the killings amounted to genocide.

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