ERDOGAN LINKS THE TWO PROCESSES

A1Plus.am
15/01/10

Turkey’s Prime Minister Receb Tayyip Erdogan said the normalization
of Ankara-Yerevan relations is related with the settlement of the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict when summing up his Moscow visit, Turkish
CNN Turk reported.

"No progress will be achieved in the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement
unless the Karabakh conflict is resolved," he added.

Although people often speak about the lack of connection between
Ankara-Yerevan relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, tension in
Turkish-Armenian relations with further closing of the borders occurred
after the occupation of Azerbaijani territories. The Nagorno-Karabakh
conflict must be solved and Azerbaijan’s occupied territories must
be liberated soon," Erdogan said.

"If Armenia has good intentions, let it start with its withdrawal
from the regions surrounding Nagorno Karabakh.

The process of normalization between Turkey and Armenia and Nagorno
Karabakh conflict are relating to each other. These processes
are connected with each other behind the scene despite they appear
conducted separately", Turkish Premier told journalists on board the
plane on his way from Russia.

Erdogan said he had discussed the issue with Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin: "Russia is the most
influential member of the Minsk Group troika for Armenia. If Russia
stays aside, it will be difficult to achieve results," he concluded.

Erdogan also spoke about Turkey’s further steps saying: "It is clear
what actions Turkey will take. We assumed risks and allowed flights
to Armenia, restarted Yerevan-Istanbul flights. We opened air borders,
but it differs from the opening of land borders".

Let’s remind that yesterday in Yerevan Russia’s Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov announced that the two processes are in no way linked:
it is difficult to solve each of these problems separately, and if one
tackles them in a single package, then prospects for their settlement
will automatically become very remote.