Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said the occupied Azerbaijani territories need to be liberated to resume the Turkish-Armenian dialogue.

During a joint press conference with the Swiss foreign minister, Davutoglu said the resumption of the Turkish-Armenian dialogue should take place simultaneously with the negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Anadolu news agency reported.

According to him, four years ago, Ankara tried to hold dialogue with Yerevan, but the talks were broken off on the Armenian side's fault.

Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations and the border between the two countries has been closed since 1993. This was due to the Armenian claims for international recognition of the alleged World War I-era genocide and the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan, Turkey's ally.

Davutoglu also said that Turkey hopes to resume negotiations between the sides.

The foreign ministers of Turkey and Armenia, Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian, signed protocols on the normalization of bilateral relations in Zurich in 2009. The protocols must be ratified by the parliaments of both countries in order to have legal effect.

The Turkish government has repeatedly stated that relations between Ankara and Yerevan would be restored after Armenia withdraws from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Ismail Alper Coskun said at a press conference on October 10 that Turkey has always supported Azerbaijan's fair position on 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. The UN Security Council's four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Coskun said Turkey is taking steps to support Azerbaijan in all international organizations and will continue to provide this support in the future.

"The Turkish government is sure that Armenia will abandon its destructive position. Peace and stability in the region are very important for Turkey," Coskun said.

He said the cooperation between Azerbaijan and Turkey in defense will continue and develop.

Coskun also said Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's visit to Turkey after the election will significantly affect the cooperation between the two countries. He said the forthcoming visit can be a basis for new economic projects.

According to Coskun, the economic cooperation between the two countries is aimed at the well-being of the whole region.

"A number of major economic projects between the two countries have been launched, one of which is TANAP (Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline). This is one of the most important and strategic projects," Coskun said.

Turkey and Azerbaijan are seeking to maximally use the full potential, he said.

He added that these projects will positively affect not only the development of the two countries, but also the entire region.