Flight from Armenia lands in Turkey as frosty ties improve

A commercial flight carrying 64 passengers from Yerevan landed in Istanbul on Wednesday, the first such direct flight in two years, as Turkey and Armenia move to mend badly strained ties. Last month, Turkey and Armenia held what both hailed as "positive and constructive" talks in Moscow, their first in more than a decade, raising hopes that normal relations can be established and their land border - shut since 1993 - reopened. Turkey has had no diplomatic or commercial ties with its small eastern neighbour since the 1990s. The talks in Moscow were the first attempt to restore links since a 2009 peace accord that was never ratified. The two countries are at odds over several issues, primarily the 1.5m people Armenia says were killed in a genocide by Ottoman Turkish forces in 1915. Turkey's transport ministry said FlyOne Armenia, a subsidiary of the Moldovan low-cost airline FlyOne, and Turkish budget carrier Pegasus Airlines had been granted clearance for the Istanbul-Yerevan flights.<br/>