Turkey ‘not to accept peace formula’ on Karabakh rejected by Azerbaijan
Turkey will not accept any "peace formula" on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement disapproved by Azerbaijan, Ambassador Hulusi Kilic says.
Kilic told a news conference in Baku Friday that his country is ready to reopen its sealed border with Armenia and establish diplomatic relations with the country, but this requires freeing Azerbaijani territory from Armenian occupation.
"The Azerbaijani-Armenian border shut down first, and it should therefore be the first border to open," the ambassador added.
20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including the Nagorno Karabakh region, has been under Armenian occupation since the two South Caucasus republics signed a precarious cease-fire in 1994 following a lengthy war.
Turkey and Armenia have been at odds for decades due to Armenia’s occupation of Azerbaijani territory and Armenian claims on 1915 "genocide" in the Ottoman Empire. Ankara signed reconciliation agreements with Yerevan in October 2009, but has assured Azerbaijan, its ally, that the protocols will not be approved in parliament until progress is made in resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.
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