Turkish President Abdullah Gul hopes for the normalization of relations with Armenia and considers his visit to the state in September 2008 risky, but the right move, News Armenia reports.
Gul was speaking at Stanford University. He called the invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to Yerevan a risky test. Gul was invited to a football match.
Turkey and Armenia have had no diplomatic relations and their border has been closed since 1993. Turkey supports Azerbaijan in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and refuses to admit the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
Armenian and Turkish foreign ministers signed a protocol on diplomatic ties and development of bilateral relations in Zurich on October 10, 2009. They have not been ratified yet. Turkey postponed consideration of the protocols in August 2011. Turkish prime minister brought the protocols up again in October, but has not set their ratification terms.
