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Ankara calls on Yerevan to stop occupation for ties’ normalization

20 February 2015 13:41 (UTC+04:00)
Ankara calls on Yerevan to stop occupation for ties’ normalization

By Sara Rajabova

Turkey has once again set as precondition stopping of Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijan's lands for normalization of Ankara-Yerevan relations.

“Armenia must withdraw from the occupied Azerbaijani territories to normalize relations with Ankara,” Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s Foreign Minister was quoted on February 20 by Sabah newspaper as saying.

Foreign Ministers of Turkey and Armenia Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian signed protocols on normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia in October 2009.

However, the protocols have not been ratified yet by the countries’ parliaments.

Cavusoglu said first, it is necessary to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for the establishment of peace in the South Caucasus.

He noted that so far, Armenia has not taken any actions to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.

Turkey cut diplomatic ties and closed its border with Armenia after the country invaded Azerbaijan's territories and Yerevan’s claims over recognition of the so-called Armenian genocide in the world.

Azerbaijan-Turkey relations have always been strong due to a common culture and history and the mutual intelligibility of Turkish and Azerbaijani languages.

Turkey was the first country in the world to recognize Azerbaijan's independence in 1991 and has been a staunch supporter of Azerbaijan in its efforts to consolidate its independence, preserve its territorial integrity, and realize its economic potential that arise from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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