The secular Moslem country Turkey continues to reach out to Armenia, its Christian neighbor. Both countries had little to no contact in the last 15 years, because Armenia tried to convince foreign governments to recognize the Armenian Genocide – a term both Turkey and many historians dispute – and because it invaded another neighbor, Azerbaijan.

When Armenia invaded Azerbaijan and took the region of Ngoro-Karabagh from its Turkic neighbor, Turkey closed the border, thereby causing tremendous problems for Armenia’s economy.

This year, however, the two sides seemed to be willing to reach out to each other. Armenia’s President invited his Turkish counterpart to visit Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, to watch the football match Armenia-Turkey together; Abdullah Gul accepted.

And so Turkey’s President went to Armenia on Saturday. Watching the match was a pleasure for him, not only because his Armenian colleague proved to be hospitable, but also – perhaps mainly – because Turkey won quite easily; 0-2.

However, there are no direct signs that Turkey is prepared to reopen the border. After all, Armenia has not done anything to indicate it might be willing to strike a deal with the Azerbaijanis, who continue to grief the loss of their beloved province; a region where many beautiful mosques could be visited once, which have been all destroyed, however, in recent years.

There are encouraging signs, however, of the two sides changing their relationship significantly. Turkish Radio Television (TRT) announced Tuesday for instance that it is ‘moving towards cooperation with Armenia’s public television station to promote dialogue between two neighbors.’

TRT’s General Manager, İbrahim Şahin, ‘announced TRT might start broadcasting in Armenian.’

‘Cooperation will be made in formats that improve dialogue, programs that focus on Armenia and Turkey, exchange of information and experience, and other issues,’ a TRT document released recently said.

‘The memorandum of understanding between the two state television stations will be transformed into a business agreement in the near future to enable joint production of programs and documentaries.’

It is yet another sign of Turkey’s increasingly important role in the region. For decades, Turks have locked themselves up between their own borders, refusing to deal with the world outside it. That has changed significantly in the last year, however. It has led negotiations between Syria and Israel, for instance, it has talked to Iran – playing a mediating role in the debate between the West and the Persian country – and it is now reaching out to the country which considers Turkey its ‘mortal enemy.’

To a degree, however, one could also say that one can see Europe‘s influence; it could very well be that the Turkish government reaches out to Armenia due to European pressure. One wonders when Europe will put pressure on Armenia, in its turn, to do something about the situation in Ngoro-Karabagh.

The decision to reach out to Armenia does not go undisputed in Turkey itself, however. The two main opposition parties, the somewhat socialist CHP and the nationalist MHP, are both angry with Gul and Erdogan. They refused to read the National Program the country’s foreign minister, Ali Babacan, wants to present to the European Union, for instance.

Many Turks feel unfairly treated by Armenia, believing it to distort history. Additionally, many Turks argue, it does not make sense to hold friendly conversations with a country that says in its constitution that part of its neighbor’s territory should be its. Armenians refer to Eastern Anatolia as ‘Western Armenia’; a highly insulting term to many Turks, especially because their ancestors had to fight and die so their children and grandchildren could live on the lands historically inhabitated by Turks.

Not only will TRT broadcast in Armenian, it is considering doing the same in Georgian and Russian. Its website, it was announced, will be altered drastically; it is currently only available in Turkish, but one will be able to read it in 12 languages soon.