Presidents of Turkey, Armenia continue football diplomacy

15/10/2009

ANKARA, Turkey -- President Abdullah Gul and Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan watched a football match between their national teams side by side on Wednesday (October 14th), in a move dubbed "football diplomacy". "We are not writing history, we are making it," Gul said at a meeting with the Armenian delegation ahead of the game in Bursa. Turkey won the match, 2-0.

Four days earlier, Yerevan and Ankara signed two historic protocols to open their borders and establish diplomatic ties. Sargsyan said the steps taken to normalise relations are crucial and expressed confidence that they will attract support in time. There has been ardent opposition from nationalists both in Turkey and in Armenia, who criticise their respective governments for making concessions. Sargsyan's visit to Bursa followed a similar trip Gul made to Yerevan 13 months ago for a World Cup qualifier. (Anadolu news agency, Xinhua - 14/10/09)