TURKEY INSISTENTLY CONTINUES LINKING KARABAKH SETTLEMENT PROBLEM TO ARMENIAN-TURKISH RELATIONS

ArmInfo
2010-04-28 11:33:00

Arminfo. Foreign Minister of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu made a speech in
the Turkish parliament yesterday sharing his views on normalization
of the Armenian-Turkish relations.

As Turkish mass media reported, touching on the regional problems
Davutoglu said Turkey does not want the status quo to go on. Turkey
aims not to allow discussion or judgment of Turkey-Armenia relations
in third countries, Davutoglu said. "Medvedev will come to Turkey in
the coming month and the top issue on the agenda will be Azerbaijan’s
occupied territory. We assume it as our own issue and continue to keep
it on the agenda on all grounds," he said. "Nothing can deal a blow on
friendship between Turkey and Azerbaijan," Davutoglu said. "Everybody
must know it very well." Davutoglu gave information to lawmakers also
about government’s goals for the future. "Turkey-Armenia relations
will become normalized," he said. "Parallel to this, occupation of
Azeri lands will end and the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia
will be resolved. The border between Azerbaijan and Armenia and also
the border between Turkey and Armenia will open. It means a corridor
from Erzurum [a province in the east of Turkey] will open through
the Central Asia," he said. Davutoglu said Turkey would not allow
this issue to cast shadow on Turkey’s relations with other countries
anymore, especially on relations with the United States. He said Turks
and Armenians will learn to share pain and common history, adding,
"they will live together." "This is our perspective on peace,"
Davutoglu said.
From: Baghdasarian