Azernews.Az

ANKARA – The leader of opposition Strong Turkey Party (GTP) Tuna Beklevic visiting Armenia has been arrested by the country’s secret service, reports say.

The GTP is a small political organization that is known little in Turkey.

Beklevic was arrested immediately after a news conference in Yerevan on Friday, Armenia Today news website said.

Armenia’s law enforcement agencies have neither confirmed nor dismissed the report.

Beklevic’s aide, Murad Aksu, confirmed to the Turkish press that the GTP chair had been apprehended in Armenia and said the party was unable to obtain any further information.

Earlier, GTP representatives visited Armenia crossing the Araz river. Beklevic then reportedly demanded reopening the border between the two countries and issued a deadline to their governments. On Thursday, he visited the country again.

Turkey and Armenia have been at odds for decades and their shared border has been shut since 1993. The two countries signed accords in October 2009 to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders. However, the documents require parliamentary approval, and Ankara has ruled out normalization with Yerevan until the conflict between Armenia, which occupies part of Azerbaijani territory, and Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, has been resolved.