Azernews.Az

Restoration of peace in the South Caucasus is associated with the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and Turkey always stresses it, Turkish Parliament's Speaker, Cemil Cicek told journalists at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku on Monday.

"Any change in Turkey's foreign policy on this matter is impossible."

He said one of the priorities in Turkey's foreign policy is the Caucasus, and inside the Caucasus - resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

Turkey always include this issue in the agenda in all meetings in international organizations and conferences, as well as does everything in its power to liberate occupied Azerbaijani territories and return of refugees to their homes, he said.

Cicek said that Azerbaijan is friendly and brotherly country for Turkey, and the relations between them are not based on interests, but on the brotherhood.

"Exactly because we are doing our utmost to ensure that relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey were strategic in all areas," he added.

Cicek arrived in Baku to attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation. Within the visit Cicek is scheduled to meet with a number of officials.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.