Cyprus, Nicosia, Jan.21 / Trend special correspondent T. Konyayeva /
One cannot compare the Nagorno-Karabakh and Cyprus problems, Serdar Denktas, a former deputy prime minister and a Northern Cyprus Democratic Party MP, said.
"Nagorno Karabakh is an Azerbaijani territory occupied by Armenia, while Cyprus is the common territory of residence for Greeks and Turks. After an agreement dated 1976, Turkish Cypriots living in the south moved to the north and the Greeks to the south," he told journalists. "We did not occupy these lands."
Regarding Nagorno Karabakh, he said the question concerns the occupation of Azerbaijani territory and the expulsion of people from their place of residence.
"The only thing that is common in these situations is the fact that Turkey and Azerbaijan are trying to bring their problem to the world community," he 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 and the surrounding regions.