Armenia and Turkey sign diplomatic ties

An accord between Armenia and Turkey was signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries, Ahmet Davutoğlu and Eduard Nalbandyan, on 10 October 2009.

The signing took place in Zurich, Switzerland. Armenians had protested against the deal and it was delayed for a three-hour period when further disagreements surfaced at the signing over unidentified “unacceptable formulations”, according to Armenia.

One official said it had been “pulled back from the brink”. The deal followed more than one year of talks. It is designed to allow the opening of borders and to set up a formal diplomatic relationship. The signing was attended by Bernard Kouchner, Sergey Lavrov and Hillary Rodham Clinton, the foreign ministers of France, Russia and the United States, respectively.

Armenia to send military forces to Afghanistan

Armenia’s defense minister Seyran Ohanian has announced that nation will contribute troops to the ISAF forces in Afghanistan.

Colonel Seyran Shahsuvarian told Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) that an Armenian military official is discussing the details of the deployment at a NATO planning conference in Germany. Armenia, as part of the USSR, has previously participated in the failed Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in the 1980s, and veterans have expressed a willingness to return to the front according to the Associated Press (AP).

Armenian President Kocharyan declares state of emergency

Armenian president Robert Kocharyan declared a state of emergency in Armenia Saturday, after policemen used tear gas and firearms to disperse protests over alleged fraud in last month’s presidential election. At least eight persons were left dead in clashes between police and opposition.

The announcement came from President Kocharyan’s office shortly after riot police suppressed the rally of roughly 15,000 protesters. Earlier, demonstrators living in tents near the city of Yerevan’s mayor’s office were forcibly evacuated using batons.

Sarkisian wins Armenian presidential elections

Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan of Armenia has won the presidential elections in his country, says a spokesperson for the voting committee. Sargsyan had 52.9 percent of the votes. His opponent Levon Ter-Petrosian had 21.5%, and the third candidate Arthur Baghdasarian 16.6%. Almost 70% of the registered voters showed up.

The opposing parties have complained about irregularities in the voting procedure, and called for demonstrations. Thousands of protesters responded to this call, and gathered in the capital Yerevan.