Non-Subscriber ExtractDiplomacy rules – Turkey and Armenia sign historic protocols |
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11 November 2009
Turkish President Abdullah Gül, left, welcomes Armenian President Serge Sarkisian before holding talks in Bursa, Turkey, on 14 October 2009. Sarkisian invited Gül to visit Yerevan for a football World Cup qualifying match between the two national teams in September 2008. (Press Association)
The foreign ministers of Armenia and Turkey signed a series of protocols on 10 October, marking a historic breakthrough in relations between the two states.
The mundane titles of the agreements – the Protocol on the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Armenia and Republic of Turkey and the Protocol on the development of relations – belie the historic nature of the accord between the two states, which have never established formal diplomatic relations.
The agreements are a culmination of a series of contacts that began with Armenian President Sergh Sarkisian invitating Turkish President Abdullah Gül to visit Yerevan for a football World Cup qualifying match between the two national teams in September 2008. Six months later, the presidents instructed their foreign ministers to develop a bilateral agreement.