Turkey's foreign minister on Thursday downplayed protests from the Armenian diaspora ahead of this weekend's signing of a landmark agreement to normalize ties with neighbor Armenia after a century of enmity.
A tour of Armenian communities by Armenian President Serge Sarkisian has sparked protests in Lebanon and France, with demonstrators in Paris shouting "traitor" at him and decrying his plans to establish ties with Turkey. Dozens of angry Armenians also staged protests in central Yerevan, the Armenian capital Thursday, burning papers meant to symbolize the agreement.
With Swiss mediation, Turkey and Armenia _ bitter foes for a century _ plan to sign a historic agreement that will establish diplomatic ties for the first time and lead to the reopening of their joint border.
One of the biggest disputes is over the World War I-era massacre of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the last days of the Ottoman Empire, which many historians regard as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies the deaths constituted genocide, contending the toll is inflated and those killed were victims of civil war.
"Everything is happening within its natural course," Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in Ankara on Thursday. "Don't listen to the voices from the diaspora, there is no surprise development for us."
Armenians abroad _ estimated at 5.7 million _ outnumber the 3.2 million living in Armenia itself, the smallest of the ex-Soviet republics. The largest communities are in Russia (2 million), the United States (1.4 million), Georgia (460,000) and France (450,000). About 65,000 Armenians live in Turkey.
Davutoglu described the documents expected to be signed on Saturday in Switzerland as an "agreement that regulates relations between two neighboring countries."
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko on Thursday welcomed the planned signing of protocols as a step positive step. "That's a logical and long-expected move," Nesterenko said at a briefing. "The establishment of good-neighborly ties between Armenia and Turkey will help ease tensions and strengthen peace and security in the region."
Nesterenko said normalization of ties will also boost bilateral trade between the neighbors.
Turkish media said high-ranking diplomats from the United States, Russia and France were expected to attend the ceremony. Switzerland has said a signing ceremony will take place, but has not announced the date and location.
Davutoglu urged the Armenian president to attend next week's World Cup soccer qualifier between Turkey and Armenia without conditions. Sarkisian has said he would go to the Oct. 14 game if there is progress toward opening their joint border.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul visited Armenia for the first game last year.
"Our president traveled to Armenia without any conditions, with political courage and that helped to improve ties," Davutoglu said. "We wish Sarkisian would travel to Turkey without conditions too."
The normalization of relations also involves the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in neighboring Azerbaijan occupied by Armenian troops. Turks have close cultural and linguistic ties with Azerbaijan, which is pressing Turkey for help in recovering its land. Turkey shut its border with Armenia to protest the Armenian invasion of Nagorno-Karabakh in 1993.
Davutoglu expressed hope that an upcoming meeting between Sarkisian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev could help resolve the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh. Azeri authorities have voiced concern over the reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia, but Davutoglu said Ankara would not harm Azeri interests.
The protocols to be signed by the two countries say Turkey and Armenia recognize their mutual frontiers and agree to open the common border within two months after the agreements formally come into force.
The organizer of Thursday's protest in Yerevan, Zarui Postandzhian of the opposition Heritage faction in parliament, said the deal will hurt Armenia's interests.
"It will lead to the loss of the Armenian territory," she said in apparent reference to the deal with which Armenia is expected to recognize a 1921 agreement that delineates the Turkish-Armenian border.
Gegam Manukian, a representative of the Armenian opposition Dashnak-Tsutyun party, also opposed the reconciliation.
"We are against signing the protocols in their current form," Manukian told The Associated Press. "Turkey has blockaded Armenia for 16 years, putting forward conditions which are reflected in these protocols. That refers, in particular, to the creation of a panel of historians which may result in the failure to recognize the genocide. That also refers to a clause related to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict."
Several dozen members of the Dashnak-Tsutyun have launched a hunger strike to protest the signing and the party plans to hold a protest outside the presidential palace in Yerevan on Friday.
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Associated Press Writers Avet Demourian in Yerevan, Armenia, and Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report.
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