YEREVAN, Armenia - Thousands of Armenians lined the streets of the capital Saturday to protest the first-ever visit by a Turkish leader and to demand that Turkey acknowledge the First World War massacres of Armenian civilians as genocide.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul was invited to Yerevan to watch the World Cup qualifying soccer match between his country and Armenia alongside Armenian President Serge Sarkisian. Turkey won the match 2-0.
Many hope the so-called "soccer diplomacy" will help the two neighbours overcome decades of antagonism rooted in the First World War-era atrocities that began in 1915.
"We have put forward our determination to create the climate to overcome problems that exist between Turkey and Armenia," Turkey's state-run Anatolia news agency quoted Gul as saying after the two leaders met.
"We will solve our problems and not leave it to the generations to come," Sarkisian said, according to Anatolia.
Gul saluted Sarkisian's "brave" invitation to watch the game and invited Sarkisian to attend the return game in Istanbul on Oct. 14.
Gul is the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia since the ex-Soviet country declared independence in 1991. The two neighbours have no diplomatic ties, and their border has been closed since 1993, when Turkey protested Armenia's occupation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, a close Turkish ally.
Historians estimate that, in the last days of the Ottoman Empire, up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in what is widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies any genocide, saying the death toll has been inflated and the dead were victims of civil war and unrest.
Gul's motorcade from Yerevan airport travelled along streets lined with thousands of people holding placards reading, in English and Armenian, "We want justice," "Turkey admit your guilt," and "1915 never again."
Others held up the names of places in eastern Turkey from where they said their ancestors had been forced to leave under an Ottoman policy of uprooting Armenian communities.
"I am from Van," said one placard, printed in white letters on black like a funeral notice.
Gul and Sarkisian watched the game behind a bulletproof glass at the stadium, which is only 500 metres from a memorial dedicated to the massacred Armenians.
Armenian fans jeered when the Turkish national anthem was played.
Gul told journalists on the plane that he hoped his visit would "lay the groundwork for solving the problems between Turkey and Armenia," as well as promote the Turkish government's plan to create a regional group for the Caucasus.
