SETTLEMENT OF ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS IS NOT RELATED TO KARABAKH CONFLICT – EUROPEAN DIPLOMAT

Interfax
May 14 2009
Russia

There is no connection between the settlement of Armenian-Turkish
relations and the resolution of the Armenian-Azeri conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh, contrary to Turkey’s statements on this account,
a European diplomatic source told Armenian media outlets.

The diplomat referred to outcomes of Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s
meetings with Turkey’s partners during an energy summit in Prague
last week.

Gul said at those meetings that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan’s statements on this matter were forced and have nothing in
common with the real process of the settlement of relations between
Yerevan and Ankara, the source said.

Erdogan said at the Azeri parliament on Wednesday that the
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations should be viewed in the
context of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process.

Armenian presidential press secretary Samvel Farmanian told Interfax
earlier that the Armenian and Turkish presidents reached an agreement
at a meeting in Prague in early May to settle relations between the
two countries without preconditions.

Armenian Foreign Ministry press secretary Tigran Balaian told Interfax
that Yerevan and Baku did not discuss the withdrawal of troops from
the territories controlled by the Nagorno-Karabakh defense forces.

"The withdrawal of troops from the territories controlled by the
Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army was not discussed at the meeting between
the Armenian and Azeri presidents in Prague on May 7. The discussions
mainly concerned Nagorno-Karabakh’s status," Balaian said.