Gul shoots for diplomatic goal

Ankara: Turkey and Armenia are hoping a little "football diplomacy" will help them overcome decades of bad blood rooted in claims of Ottoman-era genocide.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul travels to Armenia today to attend a football match between the two historic foes - becoming the first Turkish leader to set foot in Armenia since the ex-Soviet nation declared independence in 1991.

Although Turkey was among the first countries to recognise Armenia's independence, the two neighbours have no diplomatic relations and their shared border has been closed since 1993.

The animosity has its origins in Armenia's insistence that the deaths of an estimated 1.5 million ethnic Armenians around the time of World War I be recognised as genocide.

Turkey says the killings occurred at a time of civil conflict and that the casualty figures are inflated.

Little progress

More recently, ties have been frozen over Turkey's opposition to Armenia's occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, a close Turkish ally.

Little progress is expected on the genocide issue or on Nagorno-Karabakh when Gul meets Armenian President Serge Sarkisian on the sidelines of the 2010 World Cup qualifier - in which Turkey is heavily favoured.

But the visit is heralded as sign of a thaw.

"This visit will contribute - even if slightly - to an improvement in the lack of confidence between the two countries," wrote Semih Idiz, a foreign affairs commentator for Milliyet newspaper. "Taking up tougher issues will only be possible after this." Armenia is the last of Turkey's neighbours with whom Ankara has failed to mend ties since the end of the Cold War.

Turkey has gradually improved relations with traditional rivals such as Greece, Bulgaria and Syria.

Improved ties with Armenia are likely to help lift strains on Turkey's relations with other countries that have or plan to formally recognise the massacres as genocide.

Peacemaker role

Turkey cancelled military contracts with France last year after the country announced plans to make denying the genocide a crime. In October, a measure that would have declared the Armenian deaths as genocide in the US Congress was stopped after President George W. Bush's administration warned relations with strategic ally Turkey would be damaged.

Better ties with Armenia would also help bolster the regional peacemaker role Turkey has been carving for itself.

Armenia's president invited Gul to the football match in July. But Gul delayed a response until the last minute, apparently mindful of the widespread opposition to his visit.

Turkey's two major opposition parties have objected saying the visit does not serve Turkey's national interests. Gul justified his decision saying the visit would "contribute to the creation of a climate of friendship in the region".

No hordes of fans from this football-crazy country are expected to travel, and even politicians who usually watch Turkey play abroad, will not make the journey.