ITAR-TASS News Agency
TASS
March 25, 2004 Thursday 11:35 AM Eastern Time

Opening of border with Turkey helps Karabakh settlement – view

By Tigran Liloyan

YEREVAN

The opening of the border with Turkey will have a favourable impact
on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Armenian Foreign
Ministry senior spokesman Gamlet Gasparyan said.

Gasparyan said on Thursday Armenia is convinced, “The opening of the
Armenian-Turkish border will facilitate the development of regional
cooperation and have a favourable impact on the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.”

The Armenian diplomat commented on Azerbaijani President Ilkham
Aliyev’s statement saying, “Whether Turkey opens its border with
Armenia, it will be impossible to settle the conflict in
Nagorno-Karabakh.” “Thus, Armenia can lose a very important mechanism
and the talks as part of the peace process will be impossible,”
Aliyev said.

The Armenian spokesman stressed, “Turkey may be an important
mechanism in the development of the economic and political situation
in the region whether it gives up its unilateral approach towards its
attitude to Armenia and Azerbaijan in favour of Azerbaijan.”