Armenia and Turkey said today they are close to restoring full relations after 15 years of disagreements over claims of genocide against Armenians under Ottoman rule, AP reported. NATO-member Turkey and Armenia, a former Soviet republic, also hope to reopen their shared border, closed in 1993 _ a goal encouraged by the European Union and the United States. «We could be very close to settling the issue in the near future,» Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said after holding talks with Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan during a Black Sea economic conference in Yerevan. Babacan said Turkish leaders want an «all-encompassing» solution and «full normalization» of ties, according to comments broadcast by Turkey's NTV television after he returned to Ankara. Both sides said they had made progress during Thursday's talks.
