Interfax, Russia
Dec 4 2009

Normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations tied to Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict – Erdogan

BAKU Dec 4

Normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia is directly tied
to the settlement of the Armenian- Azeri conflict over
Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"We are telling the U.S. representatives: If you settle the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, you will resolve the Turkish-Armenian
problem as well, otherwise you cannot resolve the Turkish-Armenian
problem," Erdogan said in an interview broadcast on the Azeri TV
channel ANS before a visit to the U.S.

The conflict can be settled if the members of the OSCE Minsk Group,
i.e. the U.S., France, and Russia, make more efforts to resolve it,
Erdogan said.

Erdogan said the Nagorno-Karabakh issue will be addressed at his
meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on December 7.

"The Turkish-Armenian issue is related to the Nagorno-Karabakh
problem. I said this directly to Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, and
they replied, ‘We will step up this issue’. If the esteemed Obama and
Medvedev display will and if some progress is made at the
Aliyev-Sargsyan talks, then I will believe in a positive result. If
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is settled, the Turkish-Armenian problem
will also see a resolution," he said.