ISTANBUL - Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul on Friday urged him his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanian to respond to good will gestures he made at unofficial meetings between the two countries that have no diplomatic relations.
"I've met the Armenian foreign minister six times, it's no secret. We have no diplomatic relations but we do have contacts," said Gul.
Turkish daily Milliyet Friday said meetings had been held over the past three years in neutral locations with the aim of establishing a raft of ten confidence-building measures between the two.
"We have made one gesture after another, but they have not reciprocated. They too (the Armenians) have to take steps," said Gul.
Gul pointed to the opening of air routes between the two countries as one gesture made by Turkey, and a regional trade initiative for Black Sea cooperation as another.
"In Turkey there are 40,000 Armenians working and saving money to send home," said Gul.
Turkey wants Armenia to hand back the Nagorny Karabakh enclave to Azerbaijan. Armenia seized the Armenian majority territory in 1994 after a regional conflict with Azerbaijan.
Turkey recognised Armenia on its 1991 independence but has never established diplomatic relations with it. Ankara closed its frontier with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with Turkish-speaking Azerbaijan.