Turkish Politicians Claim to Cross Armenia-Turkey Border

According to a report in Turkish Zaman newspaper, leader of Strong Turkey Party (GTP) Tuna Beklevic, deputy chairperson Baybars Orsek, Head of the party’s provincial office in Kars Dundar Gultekin and other officials crossed the Armenia-Turkey border along the River Araxs and entered Armenia as a sign of protest.
According to the newspaper, Beklevic stated if the border remains closed till 2011, over 1000 Armenians and 1000 Turkish youths will cross the border this way. “We demand a positive response on the border opening from the Turkish and Armenian Governments,” the GDP leader said.
The frontier department of the Russian Federal Security Service in Armenia has refuted the information, saying no such incident could have happened.
“Armenia’s border is protected better than that of any other place,” Deputy Chief of the frontier department of the Russian Federal Security Service in Armenia, Colonel Andrey Guzeev told “Radiolur.” “Should such an incident take place, the Turks crossing the border would have already been arrested,” he said.
Guzeev assured that even the picture of Akhuryan River presented in Turkish media was false. According to him, the river is not that broad along the Armenian-Turkish border.
The Russian border guards intend to present a complaint to their Turkish counterparts with regard to the misinformation disseminated in Turkish media.
According to him, situation on the Armenian-Turkish border is controlled, all attempts to cross it illegally are thwarted.
Under inter-state agreement the Armenian-Turkish border is guarded by Russian border troops. The border was unilaterally closed by Turkey that supported Azerbaijan on Karabakh issue.