Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The Turkish foreign minister sees the occupation of Azerbaijani lands as the biggest problem hindering the region’s development.

Feridun Sinirlioglu, who is on an official visit to Baku, made the remark during a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov on September 16, while speaking about the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The ministers held discussions in both a one-on-one and expanded format.

He said Turkey considers it important to resolve this problem within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

“Settlement of this problem will pave the way for the region’s further development,” Sinirlioglu said.

He noted that the sooner the international community understands this, the more important it will be.

Noting that Turkey supports Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Mammadyarov thanked the country for its position.

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

Ankara has made clear that it wants Armenia to immediately and unconditionally leave the region in view of restoring Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and internationally recognized borders.

Turkey unequivocally refuses to open its borders with Armenia until the latter withdraws from Azerbaijan's occupied lands.

Furthermore, Mammadyarov stressed that the Azerbaijani and Armenian foreign ministers will meet in New York on September 24-25 within the UN General Assembly.

He said he and the Armenian FM each will first meet with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and then a joint meeting will be held.

Speaking about the regional issues and the problem of Syrian refugees, Mammadyarov noted that Azerbaijan also suffers from the problem of refugees and internally displaced persons.

The bloody war, which flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims against Azerbaijan, left 700,000 civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh and the regions adjoining it, as well as the regions bordering with Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh without homes.

Moreover, 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from Armenia and became refugees due to Armenia's ethnic cleansing policy after the emergence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan.

The Azerbaijani and Turkish foreign ministers also touched various issues of bilateral cooperation.

Sinirlioglu said Turkey and Azerbaijan are not only brotherly countries, but are also strategic partners.

The Turkish FM added that Azerbaijan is a rapidly developing country in the region, noting that Turkey attaches importance to Azerbaijan’s role in the region. “We are and will always be with Azerbaijan.”

Sinirlioglu further said Azerbaijan and Turkey have fruitful cooperation in the energy sphere as well, noting that special attention is paid to the development of the trade turnover between the two countries.

The Turkish and Azerbaijani foreign ministers also discussed the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project.

Mammadyarov said Azerbaijan believes that Turkey will complete the construction of the BTK railway on its territory at the end of this year or early next year.

"This project is important not only for the three participating countries. A number of countries, including Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and China attach great importance to this railway," the minister said.

Furthermore, Sinirlioglu spoke about Turkey’s fight against terrorism over the many years.

“The goal of the terrorists is economic projects. This issue has always been on the agenda, and all necessary actions are taken in this regard,” he said.

He went on to say that Ankara is taking all necessary measures to combat terrorism.

“The security of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP) is very important for us, so all measures are taken to ensure their security,” Sinirlioglu said.

Azerbaijan and Turkey's relations have always been strong due to their 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 arises from the rich natural resources of the Caspian Sea.

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

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