Turkey wants to withdraw the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the number of frozen conflicts, said Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu during a joint press conference in Ankara with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov, Turkish TRT 2 television channel reported.
He said that Ankara wishes to normalize relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and at the same time, tries to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in the near future.
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.
Concerning the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia, Davutoglu mentioned the sincerity of Ankara, and the activities of the country to establish peace in the region.
Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocols in Zurich on Oct. 10.
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. In addition to the so-called "Armenian genocide" in 1915, Armenia has voiced territorial claims on TurkishAnatolia.
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