Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept.16
By Elchin Mehdiyev - Trend:
Turkey and Azerbaijan are not only brotherly countries, but also strategic partners, Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu said during the press conference in Baku.
Sinirlioglu is on an official visit to Azerbaijan.
Turkish foreign minister said that Azerbaijan is a rapidly developing country of the region.
"We attach importance to Azerbaijan's role in the region," he said. "We are and will always be with Azerbaijan."
Furthermore, Sinirlioglu said that Azerbaijan and Turkey have fruitful cooperation in the energy sphere as well.
"Special attention is paid to the development of the trade turnover between our countries," said the minister.
Touching upon the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Sinirlioglu said that the occupation of Azerbaijani lands is the biggest problem hindering the region's development.
Turkey considers it important to resolve this problem within Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, he added.
"Settlement of this problem will pave the way for the region's further development," said the foreign minister.
"The sooner the international community understands this, the more important it will be," he added.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.