By Emil Danielyan
MUNICH (RFE/RL) — The foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey reported further progress towards the normalization of bilateral relations after weekend talks in Munich that also involved President Serge Sargisian.
Eduard Nalbandian and Ali Babaçan met in the southern German city on the sidelines of an international security conference for the second time in just over a week. Babaçan also had a separate conversation there with Sargisian, who headed the Armenian delegation at the annual high-level forum.
“You know that after the [January 29] meeting between the Armenian president and the Turkish prime minister in Davos, Switzerland, the foreign ministers were instructed to make additional efforts to normalize relations,” Nalbandian told journalists after the talks.
“I and Mr. Babaçan met for that purpose,” he said in remarks broadcast by the Armenian Second TV Channel on Saturday. “The meeting was constructive. We are moving forward and getting closer to the normalization of relations.”
Babaçan concurred: “We made progress in talks on how to normalize relations,” he was quoted by the Anatolia news agency.
A spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry likewise described the talks as
“quite productive.” “These talks aim at normalizing the relations between Turkey and Armenia,” the official, Burak Ozugergin, was quoted by Anatolia as saying.
