February 4, 2002 - 22:42 AMT
ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTER DID NOT RULE OUT THE OPPORTUNITY OF DIRECT CONTACTS BETWEEN YEREVAN AND ANKARA TO NORMALIZE RELATIONS
Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian did not rule out the opportunity of establishing direct contacts between official Yerevan and Ankara to normalize bilateral relations. As reported by "Arminfo" agency, the head of the Armenian foreign department stated this in an interview to "Liberty" radio station today. In his words, the meeting with Foreign Minister Ismail Cem in New York was useful in that sense. Vartan Oskanian did not exclude the opportunity of a new meeting with his Turkish colleague in the near future. "The both parties are disposed to normalizing relations via dialogue, which can tell on the relations between the two countries positively," - Vartan Oskanian stated, refusing to report the details of the negotiations with Ismail Cem. He just noted that one should not have any special expectations concerning the meeting, as there were several unresolved problems in the relations between the two countries.