Azernews.Az

BAKU – Azerbaijan’s parliament vice-speaker believes that Turkey will not facilitate the opening of its border with Armenia that remains shut due to long-standing hostility.

"I think that the Turkish government can once more resist international pressure and will not create suitable conditions for opening the border with Armenia, pursuing a policy in the region which meets Turkey and Azerbaijan's interests," Bahar Muradova said in an interview with the ruling party's website Thursday.

Turkey and Armenia have been at odds for decades and their shared border has been shut since 1993 due to Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Armenian claims on World War I-era "genocide". Earlier, media reports claimed that Turkey may temporarily open the border on September 11-17 as part of the NATO military exercises in Armenia. However, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu dismissed the rumors.

Muradova said NATO can transport the required equipment to Armenia by another route.

"The pressure on Turkey is an attempt to use this event for temporary opening of the border, which will further allow demanding a permanent opening from Turkey. But I think that the Turkish and Azerbaijani publics are right to oppose this. It's necessary to hold on to this position till the end.

"The trainings being held in Armenia are humanitarian ones, so equipment doesn’t necessarily have to be transported there via Turkey," Muradova said.

Turkey's stance should set an example for other countries, she said.

"Turkey is the only NATO member to have protested at the violation of international principles, occupation of one country's territories by another, the pursuit of ethnic cleansing policy, and closed the border with Armenia, the invader. Such an attitude towards the aggressor is an example for other countries on similar issues. Instead, Turkey is being subjected to international pressure," Muradova said.

According to her, some international circles are seeking to punish Turkey for its firm position.

"This punishment is a demand to open the border, an attempt to induce Turkey to it. Opening of the Turkish border within the NATO drills is nothing but an attempt to force Turkey to back down before Armenia, to open the border for a short term, and then turn this into a recurring event," Muradova said.

Armenia and Turkey signed accords in October 2009 to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders. However, the documents require parliamentary approval, and Ankara has ruled out normalization with Yerevan until the conflict between Armenia, which occupies part of Azerbaijani territory, and Azerbaijan, Turkey’s ally, has been resolved.