Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 2 / Trend R.Hafizoglu /
Leader of the Turkish Grand Unity Party Yalchin Topchu believes Turkey should keep promises to Azerbaijan and not open the borders with Armenia until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved.
"Turkey must keep its promises and not to disclose the Turkish-Armenian borders until the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict is resolved," Topchu told Trend over the telephone.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit U.S Dec.7. During his visit, the minister will mull the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the Turkish-Armenian protocols with U.S President Barack Obama.
Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocols in Zurich Oct. 10.
Turkey and Armenia in the talks mediated by Switzerland reached an agreement to launch "internal political consultations" on Aug. 31 to sign the "Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations," the Turkish Foreign Ministry reported.
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. 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.
If Armenia seriously wants peace, the country should prove this and withdrew its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories unconditionally, he added.
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