Trend, Azerbaijan
Sept 18 2009

Turkish-Armenian border no to be opened on Oct. 14: Turkish state
minister

Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept.18. / Trend News K.Zarbaliyeva /

The Turkish-Armenian border will not be disclosed on Oct.14, the
Turkish state minister stated.

"The unfair occupation of the Azerbaijani territory should be put an
end. The Armenian-Turkish border is not scheduled to be disclosed on
Oct. 14. If you want to become sure of it, it is enough to view the
Turkish-Armenian protocol," said Jamil Cicek, State Minister and
Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey.

On Aug. 31, Turkey and Armenia in the talks mediated by Switzerland
reached an agreement to launch "internal political consultations" to
sign the Protocol on Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and
Protocol on Development of Bilateral Relations, the Turkish Foreign
Ministry reported.

Political consultations will be completed within six weeks, and
following that two protocols will be signed and submitted to the two
countries’ parliaments for approval. At present Turkey does not plan
to open the borders with Armenia, Turkish Foreign Minister, Ahmet
Davudoglu, said.

Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993.

According to Cicek, Turkey informed the Azerbaijani Government about
all negotiations with Armenia.

"Some forces hold propaganda to harm the Turkish-Azerbaijani
relations. Turkey has always been close to Azerbaijan. The
normalization of the Turkish-Armenian relations will help promote the
settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem", Turkish State Minister
said.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding
districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in
1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the
U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.