Armenian president thinks over re-establishing ties with Turkey

In a recent interview with Echo Moskvy radio station, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said he continues thinking about re-establishing ties with Turkey.

"I have never ceased thinking over the possibility of normalizing ties with Turkey," the Armenian leader said.

Asked about the possibility of normalizing the bilateral relations at the current stage considering Turkey's significant role as a historically important bridge for resolving all kinds of problems, the president said: "The question, of course, is very important for Armenia. It is very important for me as a person who attempted to re-establish the relationship with Turkey. I say it in the past tense, but it doesn't mean I no longer think over the issue. However, when we were starting the process there was no confidence for normalizing the relationship or opening the border."

The president also stressed that as a result of the process all parties came to know that it was actually Turkey that wasn't interested in normalizing the relations.

"We announced then that the process could have two outcomes - either normalizing the ties and opening the border or recording no progress at all. Anyway a negative outcome should also be seen as an outcome as the real situation was not known to all. Our partners would say it was unclear which of the parties was actually unwilling to settle the issue. But Armenians definitely knew that the solution of the problem depended on Turkey."