International observers expect Turkey to open border with Armenia, Turkish PM’s Advisor on External Relations, MP Egemen Bagis said, when Addressing the External Relations Council of New York. «We recognize Armenia as an independent state. We do not have diplomatic relations, but we respect Armenians’ right to independence, equally as that of all other former Soviet republics,» Turkish PM’s Advisor said. He remarked that Turkey does not open its border with Armenia and does not establish diplomatic relations, as Armenia does not recognize those borders. «Armenian Constitutions calls not to recognize border with Turkey,» Bagis said.
In his words, based on studies carried out by a research center in Istanbul under his charge, over 50 thousand Armenians live in Turkey at present, most of them illegally. Turkish PM’s Advisor says Armenians mainly work in Turkish families as nurses. «We trust the dearest to Armenians – our children. This means people have no hatred and this proves our peoples have much in common,» Turkish PM’s Advisor underscored, reports RFE/RL.
