Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 16 2009

Ankara not faces pressure to normalize Armenia-Turkey relations:
Turkish President

In the interview with the French L`Express magazine, the Turkish
President, Abdullah Gul said that Ankara did not face any pressure in
order to normalize his country’s relations with Armenia, the Turkish
ANADOLU news agency reported.

"No pressure has been imposed on Turkey to normalize the
Armenia-Turkey relations," Gul said.

Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers, Ahmet Davudoglu and Edward
Nalbandian signed the Ankara-Yerevan protocol in Zurich on Oct. 10.

Azerbaijani MPs, including Samad Seyidov, Nizami Jafarov, Ali
Huseynov, Ganira Pashayeva, Mubariz Gurbanli, Fazil Gazanfaroglu,
Akram Abdullayev, Gultakin Hajibeyli, Asef Hajiyev, Rovshan Rzayev and
Fazail Agamali are in Ankara to discuss the situation with the
normalization of the Turkish-Armenian relations with the Turkish
officials.

Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993 due to Armenia’s
claims to recognize so-called "Armenian genocide" and Armenia’s
occupation of Azerbaijani lands.

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.

The Turkish president added that no country has the right to occupy
lands of other countries.

Gul also noted that the frozen conflicts are too dangerous and they
can begin at any time.

"We have witnessed a bitter result of the frozen conflicts in the
armed conflict between Georgia and Russia," he said.

If there is trust in Caucasus, there will be peace and stability in
the region, Gul said.