Turkey’s ex-foreign minister does not believe in Armenian-Turkish
reconciliation in near future
16.05.2009 19:35 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Ex-foreign minister of Turkey Ýlter Türkmen belives,
that in the nearest future Ankara will not be able to normalize
relations with Yerevan. According to the retired diplomat,
normalization of relations with Armenia is somehow linked to the
Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, but I thought that link was with the
withdrawal of Armenia from the six regions adjacent to
Nagorno-Karabakh, not Nagorno-Karabakh itself,’ I.lter Tu"rkmen, a
former foreign minister, said. `But what the prime minister says now
is different. He says normalization is not possible unless Armenia
withdraws from Nagorno-Karabakh, which basically means there will be
no normalization before a settlement to the problem of
Nagorno-Karabakh.’
He added, that `this is a very complicated problem, as complicated as
Cyprus, and perhaps even worse,’ Turkmen said. `It seems that in the
foreseeable future we will not be able to normalize relations with
Armenia and we will lose the momentum that was opened up by the
president’s visit to Armenia,’ Turkmen said.