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Turkish FM: No change on issue of opening Armenian-Turkish border

Politics Materials 13 December 2010 12:25 (UTC +04:00)
There have been no changes on the issue of opening the Armenian-Turkish border, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Aksam newspaper today.
Turkish FM: No change on issue of opening Armenian-Turkish border

There have been no changes on the issue of opening the Armenian-Turkish border, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Aksam newspaper today.

"There is nothing new on this issue," he said.

In April, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree suspending the ratification of the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement protocols. The protocols were signed by both countries' foreign ministers in October last year.

Sargsyan said they were suspended in the country's "national interests."

Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey were severed due to Armenia's claims of an alleged genocide, and its occupation of Azerbaijani lands. The border between the two countries has been closed since 1993.

Turkish authorities have repeatedly stated that Turkish parliament will not ratify the Armenian-Turkish protocols until the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is resolved.

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 seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - are currently holding the peace negotiations.

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