Turkey, Mardin, Dec. 12 / Trend , U.Sadikhova /
Turkey expects that the OSCE Minsk Group will find a solution to the conflict within the shortest time and specified framework. Turkey expects the OSCE Minsk Group on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict to find solution to the conflict as soon as possible and within specified framework, Mehmet Fatih Ceylan, head of the Eurasian department of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, told Trend .
According to Ceylan, recently progress has been recorded in the activities of the Minsk Group, which is testified by the meeting of foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia in Athens. "We see that the Minsk Group started playing a more active role. Together with Azerbaijan, we are working in this regard," said the head of Turkish Foreign Ministry's department.
He said that Turkey has already taken a step to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and the foreign ministers of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen countries also saw this. "The conflict between Russia and Georgia in August 2008 jeopardized the security in the region and led to the risk that the frozen conflicts could escalate into military action. And no one should turn a blind eye on it. To prevent the outbreak of new hostilities in the region, it needs to support the efforts of each country in the region to protect themselves," the diplomat believes.
"It needs to always take into consideration that the peoples of both countries (Turkey and Azerbaijan) have always been brothers, and our steps have never directed towards neglecting the interests of Azerbaijan. The steps we are taking and will take will always take into account the interests of our fraternal Azerbaijani people," Ceylan said.
According to him, the work that Turkey is doing now (the Armenian-Turkish minutes) is a big process, and it started with the aim to meet the interests of Azerbaijan. "We hope that the Azerbaijani people will benefit from this process in their own interests," said Ceylan.
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.
So far, Armenia has not fulfilled resolutions in connection with the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the occupied territories, adopted by UN General Assembly.