Turkey not to open border with Armenia – US analyst tells Azeri TV

ANS TV, Baku
30 Jun 05

Turkey is unlikely to open its border with Armenia soon, an
American analyst has told Azerbaijani commercial ANS TV. Turkish
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Azerbaijan on 30 June
following his meetings in Washington and used the Baku visit to inform
the Azerbaijani leadership of Ankara’s and Washington’s wishes, the
director of the Turkey Programme of the Washington-based Centre for
Strategic and International Studies, Bulent Alirza, told ANS.

In an interview with the “Point of View” programme on ANS TV, Alirza
said that Turkey is unlikely to open its border with Armenia soon
because that would spoil relations with Azerbaijan and because
Armenia has no intention of giving up the idea of promoting the
alleged Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

He also welcomed the remarks of the Azerbaijani president that Baku
will soon start direct flights to North Cyprus and establish business
links with Turkish Cypriots. “From each Turkish or Muslim country
that he visits, Erdogan asks for support on the Cyprus issue. What
President Ilham Aliyev said in this regard definitely made Erdogan
happy,” Bulent Alirza said.