At the meeting with the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, Mehmet Ali Shahin, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davudoglu noted the importance of stability in the Caucasus in the near future, the Turkish Cihan news agency reports.
"We insist on the establishment of stability in the Caucasus," said Davudoglu. The Turkish Foreign Minister said that he is ready to meet with all leaders of political parties to discuss the protocol, signed with Armenia.
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.
"At present Turkey does not plan to open the borders with Armenia," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davudoglu said.
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.
As to violations of the cease-fire between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Turkish Foreign Minister said that he talked with his Azerbaijani counterpart on this issue over the phone, while he was on a visit in Jordan.
On Sept. 9, the Armenian Armed Forces opened fire at the Azerbaijani troops near the Gulchuluk state farm of the Agdam region. The Azerbaijani troops answered their fire. As a result of shooting, 5 Armenian militaries died and 3 injured, the Karabakh bureau of Trend reported.