Verklaring EU Voorzitterschap over het bezoek van Turkse President Abdullah Gul aan Armenië (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Frans voorzitterschap Europese Unie 2e helft 2008 i, gepubliceerd op donderdag 4 september 2008.

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union welcomes the invitation by the Armenian President Serge Sarkisian to his Turkish counterpart President Abdullah Gul to travel to Yerevan on 6 September to attend the football match between the two national teams in the qualifying rounds of the World Cup.

It commends President Gul’s decision to accept this invitation. This trip is a strong and encouraging sign for relations between Armenia and Turkey.

The Presidency hopes that this historic and highly symbolic visit will foster a climate favourable to the normalisation of relations between the two countries, to which it looks forward.

The Presidency takes this opportunity to express its serious interest in the Turkish initiative, “Caucasus Cooperation and Stability Platform”. This is a significant Turkish contribution to this region’s stability, security and development, which is taking on a new dimension in the context of the conflict in Georgia.