Azerbaijan, Baku, Oct. 7 / Trend U.Sadikhova /
Azerbaijani people and the government are sure of seriousness of the statements of the Turkish President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Speaker of the Parliament on impossibility to open the border with Armenia without settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Turkey Zakir Hashimov told Trend .
Hasimov made this statement at a meeting with Head of the Turkish Grand Unity Party Yalcın Topcu, in response to Topcu's statements on non-observance of Azerbaijani interests in the protocol of Armenia and Turkey.
"The cause of these statements [Yalcın Topcu] is that the protocol did not affect the Karabakh theme," Hashimov said over phone.
Earlier Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Trend in an exclusive interview that Turkey and Armenia will sign a deal to establish diplomatic ties on Oct. 10. The foreign ministers will come together on October 10, or October 11 and sign the drafted document. Foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Eduard Nalbandian will ink two protocols, the texts of which had been agreed earlier and internationally hailed as a major breakthrough.
"Our efforts are not against our brother Azerbaijan. We will not agree on anything what is against the interest of Azerbaijan. We can approach the agreement but it definitely depends on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement," Erdogan added.
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.
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