Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 11
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Armenia must withdraw its troops from the occupied Azerbaijani lands to normalize relations with Turkey, the Turkish presidential administration told Trend on Dec. 11.
The administration was commenting on the recent statement of Armenian acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about Armenia’s readiness to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey, but without preconditions regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"Turkey stands for stability and peace in the region,” the administration said. “There cannot be stability in the region without the withdrawal of the Armenian troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.”
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.
“Armenia must also renounce the claims for the 1915 events as there was no “genocide” of Armenians during those events,” the administration added.
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.
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