Gul: ”My visit to Yerevan broke down psychological barriers”

President Abdullah Gul visited Yerevan on Saturday at the invitation of Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian to watch a match between the national football teams of the two countries. Afterwards, Gul and Sarkisian attended a reception. Speaking to reporters while traveling back to Turkey , Gul said that he was very pleased in Sarkisian's interest, and added, "My visit had a positive impact in the eyes of the international public. Turkey doesn't deserve a negative image, and this visit will be appreciated and seen as brave." Stating that the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh is a key one for the Caucasus , he added that the two leaders discussed it at length, which he had not expected, and that the visit would help solve the problem. Gul said that during their talks, there was not even a veiled reference to the "genocide" issue. "In contrast, the Armenian president raised the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh," Gul added. Saying that the issue of opening up the Turkish-Armenian border had not come up, he stated, "If this atmosphere is maintained, everything will be back on track, and will be normalized. But that's not the case right now. I believe that my visit broke down psychological barriers in the Caucasus ." Gul also invited Sarkisian to visit Turkey in October 2009 for another football match between the national teams.