Azerbaijan, Baku, October 12 / Trend , A.Huseynbala /
"Azerbaijani press continues spreading misinformation about the opening of Turkish-Armenian border after signing protocols on the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia on Oct. 10 in Zurich city of Switzerland. We consider it necessary to inform the public in Azerbaijan of some aspects connected with this," a source at the Turkish Embassy in Azerbaijan told Trend on Oct. 12.
Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers, Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian signed the protocol Ankara-Yerevan in Zurich on Oct. 10.
On Aug. 31, Turkey and Armenia in the talks mediated by Switzerland reached an agreement to launch "internal political consultations" to sign the Protocol on Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Protocol on Development of Bilateral Relations, the Turkish Foreign Ministry reported.
Political consultations will be completed within six weeks, and following that two protocols will be signed and submitted to the two countries' parliaments for approval, the ministry reported.
The world community knows that Turkey closed its border with Armenia in connection with the occupation of Azerbaijani territory, the report said. "The Prime Minister of Turkey said in his previous statements that opening the Turkish-Armenian border can not be a topic for discussion without liberation of the occupied lands of Azerbaijan," the report said.
Turkish Foreign Minister also said that nothing is more important than Turkey's cooperation with Azerbaijan. "Opening the borders will take time. And this time should go in parallel with the problem of liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied territories of Azerbaijan," said the Embassy.
Turkey is making efforts to open all borders for the sake of peace, independence and cooperation in the South Caucasus. "Considering the closeness of Turkey and Azerbaijan, the world community understands that by opening the borders in the South Caucasus, it is possible to achieve peace and independence in the region. That is why we expect that the fraternal people of Azerbaijan will rely on Turkey and will not believe the deliberate distortion of information," said the statement.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Do you have feedback? Contact our journalist at: trend@trend.az
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az
