On Oct.12, the Armenian national football team arrived in the Turkish city of Bursa to participate in the match with Turkey as part of the qualifying stage for the World Cup to be held on Oct. 14, the Turkish Cihan news agency reported. The special unit of the local police will ensure safety of the Armenian footballers.
The Turkey - Armenia football match will take place on the backdrop of signing of the Ankara- Yerevan protocol on the normalization of relations held in Zurich on Oct.10.
There are no diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia and the borders have been closed since 1993.
Armenia's claims to the international recognition of so-called "genocide" and the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenian troops were the reason of this.
The Turkish-Armenian protocol must be ratified by the parliaments of both countries after its signing.
The Turkish government declares that, until resolution of the Azerbaijani-Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the protocol will not be ratified in Turkey's parliament.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.