GOVERNMENT MINISTER OF TURKEY: ARMENIA GATE WON’T BE OPENED UNLESS CONDITIONS MET

arminfo
2008-05-26 11:09:00

ArmInfo. "Turkey will not open its border with neighboring Armenia,
closed for more than a decade, unless Yerevan resolves its problems
with Ankara and regional ally Azerbaijan", Government Economy Minister
of Turkey Mehmet Simsek said.

As "Zaman" Turkish newspaper reports, M. Simsek, while attending a
meeting on regional development in the far eastern province of Igd?r,
located near the border with Armenia, said Turkey, with its large
purchasing capacity of $950 billion, does not need economic ties with
Armenia, emphasizing that Armenia should be the one to take steps to
normalize its ties with Turkey.

"We don’t need them, they need us. Turkey wants good economic ties
with its neighbors. If they see this fact and take a step toward us,
we will take a step toward them", Simsek said. He added that opening
of the border gate is unfortunately not possible for the time being
without Armenia resolving its problems with Azerbaijan and changing
its stance toward Turkey.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress