8 February 2012, 07:09 (GMT+04:00)

Azərbaycan | Русский | فارسی | العربية

Ankara not faces pressure to normalize Armenia-Turkey relations: Turkish President

In the interview with the French L`Express magazine, the Turkish President, Abdullah Gul said that Ankara did not face any pressure in order to normalize his country's relations with Armenia, the Turkish ANADOLU news agency reported.

"No pressure has been imposed on Turkey to normalize the Armenia-Turkey relations," Gul said.

Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers, Ahmet Davudoglu and Edward Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocol in Zurich on Oct. 10.

Azerbaijani MPs, including Samad Seyidov, Nizami Jafarov, Ali Huseynov, Ganira Pashayeva, Mubariz Gurbanli, Fazil Gazanfaroglu, Akram Abdullayev, Gultakin Hajibeyli, Asef Hajiyev, Rovshan Rzayev and Fazail Agamali are in Ankara to discuss the situation with the normalization of the Turkish-Armenian relations with the Turkish officials.

Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993 due to Armenia's claims to recognize so-called "Armenian genocide" and Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

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.

The Turkish president added that no country has the right to occupy lands of other countries.

Gul also noted that the frozen conflicts are too dangerous and they can begin at any time.

"We have witnessed a bitter result of the frozen conflicts in the armed conflict between Georgia and Russia," he said.

If there is trust in Caucasus, there will be peace and stability in the region, Gul said.

Yahoo BookmarkYahoo Bookmark