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It is impossible to solve all problems at once: Turkish President

Türkiye Materials 12 October 2009 11:13 (UTC +04:00)
During the visit to the Turkish city of Kayseri, Turkish President, Abdullah Gul commented on the signed Ankara-Yerevan protocol and said that it is impossible to solve all problems between the two countries at once
It is impossible to solve all problems at once: Turkish President

During the visit to the Turkish city of Kayseri, Turkish President, Abdullah Gul commented on the signed Ankara-Yerevan protocol and said that it is impossible to solve all problems between the two countries at once

"A giant ice mountain cannot melt at once. There are may be difficulties, but determination and will can solve the problems," Gul said.

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.

At present Turkey does not plan to open the borders with Armenia, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davudoglu said earlier.

Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993.

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.

On Oct. 10, the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the Turkish media that his country would never take a step contradicting Azerbaijan's interests.

"It is necessary to release Azerbaijani occupied territories, not only Karabakh but other occupied regions," the Turkish Foreign Minister, Davudoglu said in his interview with the Turkish TRT1 TV channel one day after the signing of the protocol.

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