by Amberin Zaman
ANKARA — When Turkey’s president,
Abdullah Gül, took the plunge on September 6 and became the first ever Turkish leader to set foot in Armenia, few were immune to the significance of the moment. Even Turkey’s determinedly frosty diplomats began to thaw as they observed their president sitting next to his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan (albeit behind bulletproof glass) at the World Cup pre-qualifier football match pitting Turkey against Armenia. There were a few hisses and boos when the Turkish national anthem was played. But overall the Armenian fans that filled the stadium were on their best behavior (even after Turkey won the match 2-0.)
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