Erdogan: "We'll show rhe Armenian team our best hospitality"

Speaking at a parliamentary group meeting of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged soccer fans to forget politics when Turkey and Armenia face each other today in a World Cup qualifier, amid efforts by the two neighbors to restore diplomatic ties. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan is set to attend the match in Turkey just days after Ankara and Yerevan signed an accord to normalize bilateral relations. President Abdullah Gul went to Yerevan last year on the first leg of what has been called "soccer diplomacy" between the two countries. "The Armenian president and the Armenian national team will see what Turkish hospitality is," Erdogan told AK Party deputies ahead of the game in the northwestern city of Bursa. "I know our soccer fans in Bursa and in the rest of the country will behave like respectable fans. I believe our country and the citizens of Bursa will not succumb to politics and the aims of those who want to use the game to achieve something else." He also said that he was in close contact with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev, adding, "Our Azeri brothers trust us." Meanwhile, tight security measures are being enforced to avoid any provocations during the game. In the wake of the weekend accords to establish diplomatic ties and reopen the Turkish-Armenian border, Turkey is continuing to press for progress on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Erdogan recently said that further progress in the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process, including opening the border, will depend on how Armenia deals with Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in protest of Armenian invasion of Nagorno-Karabkah, an Azeri territory, and wants Armenia to end the occupation. In related news, a group of Azeri deputies will be received by Erdogan today. During the meeting, they are expected to convey their concerns about the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement. Both Gul and Erdogan have repeatedly assured Azerbaijan that Turkey would do nothing that could harm Azeri national interests, and won't open its border with Armenia unless it ends its occupation of Azeri territory. Sargsyan is expected to arrive in Bursa this afternoon, and before the game, which will start at 9 pm, Gul is scheduled to have a meeting with his Armenian counterpart, as well as host a dinner in his honor.