June 30, 2008 - 18:24 AMT
Hurriyet: Ankara welcomes Sargsyan's plan to invite Gul to Armenia
Ankara welcomed Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan's plans to invite his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to Armenia to attend the match between Armenian and Turkish soccer teams, Hurriyet reports quoting sources in the Turkish government.

According to the newspaper's observer, tensions between Yerevan and Baku somehow alleviated. "Serzh Sargsyan's invitation is the evidence of this. Moreover, launch of Yerevan-Antalya flight is a positive fact. Armavia's plane with 140 tourists landed in Antalya the other day. Some 50 thousand Armenians are expected to arrive in Turkey this year. Turks are loyal to Armenians who illegally arrive in their country for earnings. Three years ago there were 40 thousand Armenians, this year the figure reaches 70 thousand. With commodity turnover totaling $160 million, Turkey is Armenia's third major trade partner," the newspaper says.

During a recent meeting with representatives of the Armenian community of Moscow, President Sargsyan said he will take steps for normalizing relations with Turkey. "I will probably invite Turkish President to Yerevan to attend the match between our soccer teams," he said.