ARMENIA "MUST WITHDRAW" FROM OCCUPIED AREAS BEFORE TURKISH BORDER OPENS
news.az
Nov 20 2009
Azerbaijan
Vladimir Socor Steps to normalize Armenian-Turkish relations should
be taken only after Armenia has withdrawn from at least five of the
seven occupied Azerbaijani districts, regional expert Vladimir Socor
said on Friday.
"Moreover, these two processes should develop at an equal pace and
be synchronized in definite stages," Socor told a Baku conference on
security in the Caucasus.
"If the Armenian-Turkish border opens before troops are withdrawn
from the occupied land, this will bring the Karabakh settlement to
a standstill," Socor said.
Socor, who is senior fellow on the Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia
programme, said: "It would be possible to attain a positive dynamic
in the Karabakh conflict settlement provided that the issue of
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations and the opening of borders
between the countries develops on a par with the withdrawal of Armenian
troops from Azerbaijani land."
The Azerbaijani presidential Centre for Strategic Studies is
holding the conference "Obstacles to security in the South Caucasus:
realities and prospects of regional cooperation" jointly with Britain’s
International Institute for Strategic Studies.