Baku, Azerbaijan, May 9
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations is out of question without the liberation of the Azerbaijani territories, the Turkish presidential administration told Trend on May 9, commenting on today's statements of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Khankendi, where he held a briefing for foreign journalists.
Turkey stands for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the administration noted.
"Turkey's position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is clear and precise, and Armenia should unconditionally withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani territories", the Turkish presidential administration said.
Touching upon Armenia's claims on the so-called "Armenian genocide", the Presidential Administration reminded that Turkey has opened all its archives for the investigation of the 1915 events.
"Opening of the archives was repeatedly announced by the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan. If there was a "genocide" against Armenians in history, Armenia would agree with Ankara's proposal to open archives".
Today Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated Armenia's readiness to establish relations with Turkey without preconditions.
Armenia announced the cancellation of the protocols on the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations on March 1, 2018. The protocols on the normalization of relations between the two countries were signed by the foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia on October 10, 2009, but they were never ratified.
Armenia and the Armenian lobby claim that Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, allegedly carried out "genocide" against the Armenians living in Anatolia in 1915. While strengthening the efforts to promote the "genocide" in the world, Armenians have achieved its recognition by the parliaments of some countries.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Armenian president Armen Sarkissian on May 8 signed a decree appointing Nikol Pashinyan as the prime minister. Opposition leader Pashinyan was elected Armenia's prime minister with 59 MPs voting “for” and 42 “against” during a special session of the National Assembly on May 8.
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