Trend, Azerbaijan
Oct 10 2009
Armenia must withdraw from pressure of international Armenian lobby:
Turkish prime minister
Armenia must withdraw from the pressure of the international Armenian
lobby, Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Oct. 10,
answering questions of journalists of CNN Turk TV channel.
The Prime Minister also said that he would never agree to infringe the
interests and rights of Azerbaijan.
"In my speech at the Azerbaijani Parliament, I said openly that the
interests of Azerbaijan are important for us," he said.
Turkey and Armenia will sign a protocol on normalization of the
relations in the Swiss city of Zurich on Oct. 10.
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, the Turkish Foreign Ministry
reported on August 31 when an agreement was reached on protocol.
However, at present Turkey does not plan to open the borders with
Armenia, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davudoglu said earlier.
Armenian-Turkish ties have been severed since 1993 after Armenia’s
occupation of Azerbaijani territories.
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