Turkish PM, Armenian president hold useful talks in Davos

Serzh Sargsyan said he had a "positive signal" Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during rare talks between the two neighbors.   Â

"I've seen a willingness of the prime minister to solve our issues. I think this is a positive signal," Sargsyan was quoted by AP as telling reporters.

Sarkisian would not give details about the talks which took place minutes after Erdogan stormed out of an angry debate on the Gaza war with Israel's President Shimon Peres at the Davos forum.

The Armenian presidency also said on Friday the meeting was "positive". "President Sargsyan and Prime Minister Erdogan considered their first meeting as positive and charged the foreign ministers of both countries to put additional efforts into normalizing relations," AFP quoted the presidency as saying in a statement. Â

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations and their border has been closed for more than a decade, as Armenia presses the international community with the backing of the diaspora to admit the so-called "genocide" claims instead of accepting Turkey's call to investigate the allegations, and Armenia's invasion of 20 percent territory of Azerbaijan.

 

A warmer period began in relations when Turkish President Abdullah Gul paid a landmark visit to Yerevan in September to watch a World Cup qualifying football match between the two countries on the invitation of Sargsyan. The two countries have been holding contacts at the minister level since.