MAY 2 2011 – The symbolism is striking. In 2008 and 2009 so-called soccer diplomacy helped to build a reproach between Armenia and Turkey after generations of distrust and animosity. Now, a statue commemorating Armenian-Turkish friendship is being pulled down.

Armenia and Turkey had barely spoken since Armenia supported rebels fighting Azerbaijan, Turkey’s long-time ally, in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh after the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union.

The border between Turkey and Armenia was officially closed. But by 2009 with the help of the soccer diplomacy, when the presidents of each country visited the other’s capital to watch soccer matches, they were on the brink of repairing relations. Then the process stalled.

The dispute stretches back further to the Ottoman Turks. Most Armenians say a genocide by the Ottoman Turks killed 1.5m Armenians in eastern Turkey during World War I. The Turks refute this and say hundreds of thousands died on both sides in civil fighting.

On April 26, workmen moved in to pull down a statue in eastern Turkey symbolising Turkish-Armenian friendship. The statue is about the height of a 10-storey building and was started in 2006 but had still not been completed. It depicts two people emerging out of one stone block.

On a visit earlier this year, Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the statue as a monstrosity and local officials have said they have always planned to tear down the statue.

Built to symbolise friendship, the statue may now be a more fitting symbol for the stalled reconciliation process.

APRIL 30 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia accused Azerbaijan of shooting dead three soldiers within 48 hours in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan denied the charge but the row further escalated tension.

MARCH 17 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In a gesture of good will over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia and Azerbaijan exchanged one prisoner each in a deal arranged last year. A ceasefire since 1994 has maintained a shaky peace over Nagorno-Karabakh but sporadic shootouts between Armenian and Azerbaijani soldiers over the last few years have intensified.