Turkey’s state TV signals future broadcasts in Armenian

Turkey’s state-run Turkish Radio Television (TRT) is moving toward cooperation with Armenia’s public television station to promote dialogue between the two neighbors, the Turkish Daily News (TDN) wrote on Tuesday.

After President Abdullah Gul’s historic visit to Yerevan, the general manager of TRT, Ibrahim Sahin, announced TRT might start broadcasting in Armenian.

TRT also signed a memorandum of understanding with Armenia 1 TV, according to the report in the TDN.

“Cooperation will be made in formats that improve dialogue, programs that focus on Armenia and Turkey, exchange of information and experience, and other issues,” the document read.

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.

Sahin said the three main pillars of the cooperation are – cooperation in management, leading public opinion and education. He added a bridge would be built between two countries with the help of state television.

He said the final decision for full-time broadcasting in languages, such as Kurdish, Arabic, Persian and English, which are mostly spoken in neighboring countries is in progress, adding an Armenian broadcast could be also possible in the second phase.

He added broadcasting in Georgian and Russian was also under consideration.

TRT’s official website, which currently only operates in Turkish, will be transformed to serve in 12 languages, Sahin said.

Although Armenian is not among the 12 proposed languages, a new page might ultimately be added, he said.

Photo: AA