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The presidents of Turkey and Armenia attended a soccer match together on Saturday in what was seen as a landmark encounter in Yerevan designed to help end almost a century of hostility and enhance security in the Caucasus.
Abdullah Gul became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia. The neighboring countries have no diplomatic ties but, rather, a relationship haunted by the question of whether huge numbers of ethnic Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks during World War I in what Yerevan claims was systematic "genocide." Ankara also condemns Armenia`s policy of occupying Azerbaijani land.
Attack helicopters escorted Gul`s jet on its arrival and police and demonstrators lined the traffic-free streets as his motorcade sped through downtown Yerevan.
The two presidents expressed hope that the 2010 World Cup qualifier, the first match between the two national teams, would help thaw relations and foster dialogue.
The initiative has gained new impetus since Russia`s war with Georgia last month, which raised fears for the security of energy supplies from the resource-rich Caspian basin to western Europe.
"We hope we will be able to demonstrate goodwill to solve the problems between our countries and not transfer them to future generations," Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian said after hosting Gul.
Sarkisian said Gul had invited him to the return match to be held in October 2009.
Gul said he hoped the game -- which Turkey won 2-0 -- would aid rapprochement and contribute to regional peace and security.
It is indicative that the alleged Armenian "genocide" was not raised during the Gul-Sarkisian talks.
The Turkish leader told journalists, upon returning to Ankara, that he considered his visit to Yerevan to have been fruitful.
"My visit broke the psychological barrier in the Caucasus. Sarkisian took a very important step by inviting me to the match. If I hadn`t accepted his invitation, the whole world would have said I got scared," said Gul.
With regard to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict, he said Turkey could play an important role in settling the dispute.
"Resolution of the Garabagh problem is the most important issue for us in the South Caucasus," he said.
Gul said Sarkisian had brought up the Garabagh issue during the talks first, which he did not expect.
"Quite frankly, I was not expecting such a comprehensive and detailed discussion on the Garabagh conflict.
"This problem will be solved sooner or later, but 20 to 30 years should not be wasted on that. The current situation in conducive for finding a solution," the Turkish leader said.
Commenting on the exchange of views he had with Sarkisian on the situation in Georgia, and the region as a whole, Gul said he had managed to rally support for Ankara`s recent proposal to set up a five-nation union, called the Caucasus Peace and Cooperation Platform.
Gul also said prospects for Turkish-Armenian relations were a focal point during his meeting in Yerevan. The two countries agreed to continue discussions about improving bilateral relations, he told the press.
Turkey has never opened an embassy in Armenia and, in 1993, Ankara closed its common border with Armenia in a show of solidarity with Azerbaijan, a Turkic-speaking ally then fighting Armenian-backed separatists in the Upper Garabagh region.
Armenia continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts, in defiance of international law. Peace talks have, so far, made no progress in resolving the dispute. Azerbaijan said it was not opposed to Gul`s visit to Armenia, as Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said the decision was an internal affair of Turkey and its president.
"Azerbaijan cannot, in any way, interfere with the passage of Turkey`s decision in this regard," he said.
President Gul is scheduled to pay a short visit to Azerbaijan on Wednesday during which he will meet with his counterpart Ilham Aliyev. Further, Gul is to head to the United States on September 20, Turkish media reported.
Matthew Bryza, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, who co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group brokering a settlement to the Garabagh conflict, said Gul`s visit to Armenia would assist in finding a solution to the long-running dispute.
"The visit will promote a political settlement to maintain Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity," Bryza added.
Yet, even as the two presidents sat together in Hrazdan stadium, the challenges were obvious.
Armenian fans booed the Turkish national anthem and dozens of demonstrators held torches and flowers in a silent vigil at an imposing monument to the alleged genocide of Armenians on a hillside behind the stadium.
Protesters in the streets held banners saying, "1915 - Never Again" and "We Demand Justice."
Armenia insists that 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of Ottoman Turks, and Yerevan insists Ankara should recognize the killings as an act of genocide. Turkey rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians, along with at least as many Turks, died in the civil strife that emerged when Armenians took up arms in a bid for independence in eastern Anatolia.
Public surveys in Armenia have revealed opposition to the Turkish president`s visit, which came following an invitation from the Armenian president. Older Armenians are the most staunchly opposed and claim that Turks have always been hostile to Armenians.
`Turks hate us. Now we are imploring them to come here. What do we need them for?` is a commonly held view.
Further, a Turkish opposition leader has emphatically criticized President Gul for visiting Armenia.
Deniz Baykal, who chairs Turkey`s Republican People`s Party (CHP), suggested ironically, prior to the visit, that if Gul was heading to Yerevan, he might as well lay a wreath at the monument to the victims of the alleged genocide. "By doing so, he would make those urging him to visit Yerevan even more happy." Baykal recalled that Gul had spoken against a 1993 visit to Ankara by Armenian leader Levon Ter-Petrosian at the invitation of then-Turkish President Suleyman Demirel.
"President Gul`s words, 15 years ago, contradict what he says now and his approaches today," the opposition leader said. "What has changed since then? Has Armenia recognized Turkey`s borders and relinquished its territorial claims against us, or has it given up its `genocide` claims? Has it put an end to the occupation of Upper Garabagh? None of this happened, hence, nothing has changed. The only thing that has changed is that a person who has forgotten what he said in the past is currently Turkey`s president."
But Russia`s decision last month to send its forces into Georgia, an ex-Soviet state which borders both Armenia and Turkey, has convinced many that it is time for Ankara and Yerevan to put their differences aside.
Gul said these events made his trip "especially important."
Observers believe that normalizing relations could greatly enhance Turkey`s role as a regional power, as energy flows from the Caspian Sea, as well as to increase Western influence in the South Caucasus.
Landlocked Armenia could also derive enormous benefits from the opening of the frontier with its large neighbor and the restoration of a key rail link.
Currently, western-backed pipelines shipping oil and gas from the Caspian Sea to Turkey`s Mediterranean coast bypass Armenia and bend north, instead, to travel through Georgia.

`Symbolic nature`
Azerbaijani analysts have commented on Ankara`s accepting Yerevan`s invitation and analyst Rasim Musabayov said Gul`s visit was merely of a symbolic nature.
"The Turkish side is trying to demonstrate that it is not holding a grudge, that it is ready to solve outstanding issues through dialogue. Nonetheless, those assuming that diplomatic relations will be forged between the two countries at the conclusion of a meeting lasting four to five hours are mistaken."
Rather, Musabayov said Gul`s visit was an indication of efforts to move a Turkey-Armenia dialogue to a higher level. Thus, whereas discussions have previously been held only between foreign ministers, they are now being raised to the level of presidents. "If dialogue continues on the presidential level, the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border may become possible."
Another analyst, Rasim Aghayev, says the Turkish leader`s visit to Yerevan was bad news for Azerbaijan.
"The visit will lead to the emergence of trade transactions between Turkey and Armenia, which will ultimately bring about establishment of broader economic and cultural relations," he said.
Aghayev predicts that, after Gul`s visit, Turkey will begin pursuing a new policy toward Armenia, and Azerbaijan will have to seek other means to settle the Garabagh conflict.

Tight security
Turkish media reported that President Gul wore a bulletproof vest under his suit while visiting Armenia.
According to an agreement reached between the Turkish and Armenian security agencies, security was heightened in Yerevan to protect Gul during the visit. The car President Gul traveled in while in Armenia was brought from Turkey and was equipped with specially installed electronic and security enhancements. At the stadium, the Turkish president`s bench was enclosed by four-sided bulletproof glass to avert potential assassination attempts.
Under the agreement reached, Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian greeted President Gul upon arrival. The Turkish delegation headed to the Armenian President`s Palace through a specially created, secure corridor. After a one-on-one meeting of Presidents, Gul and Sarkisian, the two leaders, headed to the soccer match. Gul returned home immediately following the game.