Anatolia News Agency, Turkey
March 9 2007

TURKISH PREMIER VIEWS AZERI-ARMENIAN PROBLEMS, CYPRUS

Baku, 9 March: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended
the first forum of world Turkey-Azerbaijan diaspora institutions in
Baku, Azerbaijan, on Friday [9 March].

Erdogan said that Armenia violated the boundaries of respect towards
territorial integrity which is the fundamental principle of
international law.

Noting that the world’s being indifferent towards this attitude of
Armenia is very regretful, Erdogan said that Turkey and Azerbaijan
will continue to support each other as they have been doing so far.

Regarding so-called Armenian genocide, Erdogan said that Turkey
opened its archives which include more than 1 million documents.

"We asked Armenia to open its archives too. We made calls to third
countries as well. We proposed historians, political scientists,
archaeologists, lawyers and art historians to work on the issue. But
we still have not received a response.

"Armenians try to show incidents which actually did not occur as if
they had occurred. They cannot and will not present the documents of
their claims to us.

"You cannot build the truth on lies," noted Erdogan.

Erdogan also thanked Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev for inviting
President Mehmet Ali Talat of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC) to the forum.

"Great cooperation, joint projects and friendly relations between
Turkey and Azerbaijan became the source of inspiration for Turks
living in other countries," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan said on Friday.

Taking the floor in the inauguration of the first forum of world
Turkey-Azerbaijan diaspora institutions in Baku, Erdogan said that
Turkey and Azerbaijan fully supported each other during hard times
that the two countries went through.

"We have been going through a difficult period. We are living in a
critical geography. We have to act carefully because of the
developments that have been taking place in the Middle East. We are
worried over the situation of Turkomans in Iraq. On the other hand,
Turkish Cypriot people have been facing unfair isolations imposed on
TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). We can overcome these
problems through a sound cooperation and solidarity," Erdogan
underlined.

Noting that important projects that have been implemented between
Turkey and Azerbaijan in the recent years were the best examples of
sound cooperation between the two countries, Erdogan indicated,
"Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum natural gas pipeline would start to serve soon.
Construction of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway will also begin."

Erdogan underlined that these projects made Turkey and Azerbaijan
more important countries in the world.

Meanwhile, State Ministers Besir Atalay and Mehmet Aydin and
representatives from the USA, Australia, TRNC, Iraq, some European
countries and Turkish republics attended the forum.