Yerevan backs Turkey`s EU membership bid
Armenia on Friday backed Turkey`s efforts to join
the European Union, following the recent signing of an agreement on
mending bilateral ties.
``We have an interest in this so that, via Ankara, we can also have closer relations with the EU,`` Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian was quoted as saying by the Russian Interfax news agency.
Sarkisian also argued for opening up the border between Turkey and Armenia, saying: ``In a modern world, closed borders hinder the natural economic process.``
Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark agreement on October 10 to establish diplomatic relations and open their sealed border after a century of enmity, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton helped the two sides clear a last-minute snag.
The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed the accord in the Swiss city of Zurich after a dispute over the final statements they would make. In the end, the signing took place about three hours later than scheduled and there were no spoken statements.
The parliaments of Armenia and Turkey need to ratify the protocols for them to take force.
The accord could lead to a reopening of their border within two months. It has been closed for 16 years.
``We have an interest in this so that, via Ankara, we can also have closer relations with the EU,`` Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sarkisian was quoted as saying by the Russian Interfax news agency.
Sarkisian also argued for opening up the border between Turkey and Armenia, saying: ``In a modern world, closed borders hinder the natural economic process.``
Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark agreement on October 10 to establish diplomatic relations and open their sealed border after a century of enmity, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton helped the two sides clear a last-minute snag.
The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed the accord in the Swiss city of Zurich after a dispute over the final statements they would make. In the end, the signing took place about three hours later than scheduled and there were no spoken statements.
The parliaments of Armenia and Turkey need to ratify the protocols for them to take force.
The accord could lead to a reopening of their border within two months. It has been closed for 16 years.
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