TURKISH SPEAKER HIGHLIGHTS IMPORTANCE OF RELATIONS WITH AZERBAIJAN
Anadolu Agency
April 15 2009
Turkey
Ankara -The Turkish parliament Speaker said on Wednesday that
Turkish-Azerbaijani relations could not be harmed.
Turkey’s Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan called for not harming
relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
"We should not let Turkish-Azerbaijani relations be harmed," Toptan
told a group of women Azerbaijani parliamentarians visiting Turkey.
Toptan said, "one million Karabakh people will be displaced and try
to survive, and we will open the border gate with Armenia. Such a
thing cannot happen."
"Discussing all problems with Armenia, one of which is Karabakh,
does not cause any weakness in Turkish-Azerbaijani relations, and
it does not mean that Turkey is making concessions of its policies
regarding the Upper Karabakh issue," Toptan also said.
Toptan said Turkey’s views were very clear and obvious, and said
nobody knew when those discussions would be completed, or whether or
not they would bear positive result.
The Turkish parliament speaker said that Turkey would never give up
Azerbaijan, and two countries should join forces and walk together.
Also speaking in the luncheon, Genire Pasayeva, an Azerbaijani
lawmaker, said that the border crossing with Armenia could not be
opened before the invasion of Azerbaijani territories ended.
"We are not telling to keep the borders closed, but we are saying that
Armenia should withdraw from our territories and recognize Turkey’s
territorial integrity," Pasayera said.
Pasayera also called for regional cooperation.
Turkey and Armenia has been holding talks to normalize relations
in recent years. Armenian President Serzh Sargsian said last week
that the border between Turkey and Armenia, which was closed after
Armenia invaded Azerbaijan’s Upper Karabakh in 1993, could be opened
in a few months.
However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the border
could not be opened until Armenia-Azarbaijan dispute is resolved.
Turkish State Minister Nimet Cubukcu also received the Azerbaijani
women parliamentarians.