Syria welcomes Turkish-Armenia diplomacy

DAMASCUS, Syria, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The Syrian Foreign Ministry welcomed joint agreements between Turkey and Armenia to move toward normalizing bilateral relations.

In a joint statement Monday, the governments of Turkey and Armenia announced they would work toward normalizing diplomatic ties and bilateral relations.

Turkish relations with Armenia were complicated by claims of genocide during the Ottoman Empire. Recent ties are complicated over disputes regarding the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, an area of dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry through the official Syrian Arab News Agency said it welcomed the friendship and cooperative relations between Syria, Turkey and Armenia.

Syrian President Bashar Assad in June met with Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan to discuss bolstering economic and foreign relations.

Assad also expressed hope that outstanding issues of Nagorno-Karabakh would be resolved quickly so the region could move forward without further obstacles.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a bitter military battle over Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s, and the regional fallout from disputes over the territory remains tense despite a 1994 cease-fire.

Ankara said in April it would open its borders with Armenia in time for a qualifying match between both national teams for the World Cup scheduled for October.

Baku, however, has expressed its dissatisfaction regarding the border initiative.