EDWARD NALBANDIAN: TURKEY CANNOT BE A MEDIATOR IN THE KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PROCESS

armradio.am
14.04.2010 18:43

"It was a very important visit. The meetings were important both in
terms of strengthening bilateral relations and discussing regional
and international issues both sides are concerned about," Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said, summing up the results of the
meetings in Washington on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit.

"President Sargsyan’s meetings with President Obama and Secretary
Clinton provided an opportunity to continue the constructive dialogue
and the discussions on the normalization of the Armenian-Turkish
relations and the Karabakh conflict settlement," Nalbandian said.

Commenting on Armenian President’s meeting with Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Minister Nalbandian said the meeting "made it
possible to have a clear idea about Turkey’s stance."

Asked whether Karabakh was touched upon during Armenian-Turkish talks,
Nalbandian stated: "The Turkish side was trying to hold discussions
on Karabakh, but we answered that Armenia-Turkey normalization could
not be linked to the Karabakh settlement. I don’t think there are
any reasons to discuss the Karabakh issue with Turkey. First of all
Turkey cannot be a mediator in the Nagorno Karabakh settlement process.

Secondly, Armenia will never make concessions over the Karabakh issue
for the sake of Armenia-Turkey normalization. Tying the two issues
will harm both processes."

"If Turkey does not want to fail this process, it should show very
quickly in practice that it is ready to ratify the Protocols and
establish relations," Nalbandian said.