Turkish, Armenian businesses demand border opening

"There are two aspects: (opening the border) will make trade with Turkey cheaper and on the other hand it will open up transit routes for Armenia to the Mediterranean," said Arsen Kazaryan, an Armenian businessman.

With no sign of any diplomatic thaw soon between Yerevan and Ankara, business groups are trying to ratchet up the pressure for the border to be re-opened.

The conference, at Yerevan's plushest hotel, was organized by a U.S.-based think tank and attracted several hundred entrepreneurs, economists, researchers and officials.

It was supported by the U.S. government. All speakers were in favor of re-opening the border.

A cross-border business lobby, the Turkish-Armenian Business Development Council, is spearheading the campaign.

Mayors and regional bosses near the border with Armenia in eastern Turkey -- one of the poorest parts of the country and the area that would gain most from free trade links -- are also pressing Ankara on the issue.

Soyak, co-chair of the Business Development Council, said opening the border would mean a flood of Armenian tourists visiting historic sites in eastern Turkey like Ani, once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom.

"That would mean $100 per day (from each visitor)," he said. "The eastern part of Turkey doesn't have that sort of money.

"Unfortunately, the central government in Turkey does not take into consideration the problems of the eastern part."

In the meantime, people in Turkey and Armenia are not waiting for the politicians.

Charter flights regularly take Armenian tourists to Turkish holiday resorts and Turkish businessmen can be seeing cutting deals in hotel lobbies in Yerevan.