Turkey will not open its border with Armenia while it continues to occupy Azerbaijani lands, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday to Turkish ATV channel, the newspaper Sabah reported.
"The reason for closing of our borders in 1993 was the occupation of Azerbaijani lands. As long as the occupation persists, we will not open our borders", Erdogan 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.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.