The Turkish President, Abdullah Gul, has arrived in neighbouring Armenia - the first Turkish leader ever to set foot in the country.

He is to attend a World Cup qualifying match between the two national teams, which have never played each other.

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They have waged a war of words over Armenia's attempts to label as genocide a mass killing of Armenian civilians by Ottoman forces during World War I.

Before leaving Ankara, Mr Gul said he hoped Saturday's match would help lift the barriers that divided the two nations, which have no diplomatic ties.

Correspondents say they may discuss a Turkish proposal to set up a regional security forum, at talks before the match.

Mr Gul was invited to attend the game by his Armenian counterpart, Serge Sarkisian.

Visit 'a betrayal'

However, the invitation has already sparked a major debate in Turkey, with some nationalists regarding the fact that the president was even considering taking it up as a betrayal of the country's national interests.

More than a dozen countries, various international bodies and many Western historians have recognised the civilian killings as genocide.

Turkey admits that many Armenians were killed but it denies any genocide, saying the deaths were a part of the world war.

The two countries have had no diplomatic ties since Armenia became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Their common border has been closed since the war between Armenia and Turkey's ally, Azerbaijan, in the 1990s over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

(BBC)

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