Armenia leader attends landmark soccer match in Turkey
Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian is visiting the
Turkish town of Bursa. During the visit, which began an hour
earlier than planned, he attended a World Cup qualifying soccer
match between the two countries’ national teams together with his
Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul.
The plane carrying Sarkisian’s delegation had landed at the Bursa airport a few minutes after that of President Gul arrived. The two leaders then headed to the Almira hotel, followed by their meeting. The two focused on the ratification in parliaments of the documents on forging diplomatic relations and reopening the Turkish-Armenian border, which were signed on Saturday. The one-on-one and broad meetings between Sarkisian and Gul were followed by a banquet.
The soccer match played late on Wednesday ended with Turkey’s 2:0 victory. Both Turkey and Armenia have lost their chances to advance to the final leg of the World Cup, which means the game will be strictly formal.
Turkey and Armenia face decades of enmity. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 due to Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Yerevan’s genocide claims. However, the two countries’ leaders attended a 2010 World Cup qualifying soccer match together in Yerevan in September, which showed signs of a thaw in Ankara-Yerevan ties. Further, President Gul invited his Armenian counterpart to Turkey for a return game.*
The plane carrying Sarkisian’s delegation had landed at the Bursa airport a few minutes after that of President Gul arrived. The two leaders then headed to the Almira hotel, followed by their meeting. The two focused on the ratification in parliaments of the documents on forging diplomatic relations and reopening the Turkish-Armenian border, which were signed on Saturday. The one-on-one and broad meetings between Sarkisian and Gul were followed by a banquet.
The soccer match played late on Wednesday ended with Turkey’s 2:0 victory. Both Turkey and Armenia have lost their chances to advance to the final leg of the World Cup, which means the game will be strictly formal.
Turkey and Armenia face decades of enmity. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 due to Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Yerevan’s genocide claims. However, the two countries’ leaders attended a 2010 World Cup qualifying soccer match together in Yerevan in September, which showed signs of a thaw in Ankara-Yerevan ties. Further, President Gul invited his Armenian counterpart to Turkey for a return game.*
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