Turkey ready to do its part for good ties with Armenia – premier
Anatolia news agency
9 May 05
ANKARA
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “If Armenia fulfils
its duties, Turkey will do what is required for a fair and lasting
solution in terms of balances in the region.”
Erdogan arrived in Russian capital Moscow late on Sunday [8 May] to
attend ceremonies marking the 60th anniversary of end of the World War
II upon the official invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Prior to his departure for Russia, Erdogan told reporters at the
airport that he would have meetings with Putin, and heads of state and
government who would participate in the ceremonies in Moscow.
When asked whether he would have a meeting with Armenian President
Robert Kocharyan, Erdogan said: “There is not a scheduled meeting
now. There is not such a demand.”
“As you know, Turkey is one of countries which recognized Armenia
after disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. But
there are no diplomatic relations between the two countries. If
Armenia fulfils its duties, Turkey will do what is required for a fair
and lasting solution in terms of balances in the region,” he stressed.
Indicating that they opened Turkish airspace to Armenia and flights
between Yerevan and Istanbul started, he said: “We have a positive
attitude towards Armenian citizens in the country. We expect Armenia
to overcome its problems with Azerbaijan.”
Recalling that the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) which undertook the mission of mediation
in the process to solve the Nagornyy Karabakh issue, Erdogan said: “We
hope that they will reach positive results on this issue.”