RELATIONS WITH AZERBAIJAN IS A PRIORITY IN TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY – FM

Yerkir
21.09.2009 17:17
Yerevan

Yerevan (Yerkir) – Relations with Azerbaijan is one of the priorities
of Turkish foreign policy and any step of Turkey contrary to the
interests of Azerbaijan is out of the question, Turkish Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Saturday in an interview with CNN
Turk television.

"Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territories is contrary to all
standards of international law. Something must be done about it. And
Turkey takes the initiative in the issue of normalization of relations
with Armenia to speed up the process of resolving this conflict,"
he said.

Davutoglu hoped that opening the border with Armenia will happen in
the near future.

"All parties, including the OSCE Minsk Group, are active and if we
can combine our efforts, not only the Turkish-Armenian border, but
the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia can be opened too," he said.

He said the status quo in the Caucasus is not profitable for any
country in the region.

"In this situation it becomes necessary that a new player emerge,
who can change the situation in the Caucasus for the better. OSCE
Minsk Group did not succeed for 17 years", – said Davutoglu.

"It would be wrong to link the recent advances in the process of
normalizing Turkish-Armenian relations with the statement by US
President Barack Obama in the Turkish Parliamen t. These steps are
made solely by the will of Turkey to fully normalize the situation
in the region," he added.