Turkish FM rules out approval of Armenia deal before occupation ends
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said parliamentary
approval of the agreement on mending Ankara’s strained relations
with Armenia is impossible until the Azerbaijani territories are
freed from Armenian occupation.
The statement came during a news conference with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in London, Armenia’s Yerkir Media TV channel reported.
Davutoglu said efforts aiming to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations seek to stabilize the entire region, but the process is meaningless if Armenia’s occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory persists.
Armenia and Turkey have been at odds, and the border between the two countries has been closed, since 1993. In a bid to end long-standing hostility, the two governments signed protocols in Zurich in October 2009 to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders. However, the documents require parliamentary ratification, and Ankara has made clear that it could normalize ties with Yerevan only after the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has been fairly settled.*
The statement came during a news conference with British Foreign Secretary David Miliband in London, Armenia’s Yerkir Media TV channel reported.
Davutoglu said efforts aiming to normalize Turkish-Armenian relations seek to stabilize the entire region, but the process is meaningless if Armenia’s occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory persists.
Armenia and Turkey have been at odds, and the border between the two countries has been closed, since 1993. In a bid to end long-standing hostility, the two governments signed protocols in Zurich in October 2009 to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders. However, the documents require parliamentary ratification, and Ankara has made clear that it could normalize ties with Yerevan only after the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict has been fairly settled.*
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