Azerbaijan, Baku, October 22 / Trend A. Huseynbala /
Co-chairman of Azerbaijani-Turkish working group on inter-parliamentary relations does not believe that the protocols signed between Ankara and Yerevan will be ratified by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (Parliament).
"The protocols can be approved in the Turkish Parliament if the USA, France and Russia, insisting on signing these documents, put pressure on Armenia to release Azerbaijani occupied territories," co-chairman of Azerbaijani-Turkish working group on inter-parliamentary relations, Nizami Jafarov, told Trend on October 22.
Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian signed the protocols Ankara-Yerevan in Zurich on October 10.
Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey have been broken due to Armenia's claims of an alleged genocide, and its occupation of Azerbaijani lands. The border between them has been broken since 1993.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan lost all of Nagorno-Karabakh except for Shusha and Khojali in December 1991. In 1992-93, Armenian armed forces occupied Shusha, Khojali and 7 districts surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Jafarov said that it is impossible not to believe in Turkish officials' promises that the border with Armenia will not be opened till the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is solved. "If the border is opened, it will be evidence of current Turkish government's lie," he said.
During the meetings with participation of 11 Azerbaijani MPs in Turkey, it was stated that opening of the border with Armenia is possible in case of any serious changes in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, co-chairman of the working group said.
"If one believes in sincerity of these statements, the protocols are not expected to be ratified rapidly in the Turkish parliament," Jafarov said.
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