Azernews.Az

ANKARA – Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said temporarily reopening his country’s border with Armenia that has been shut over long-standing hostility during NATO’s military exercises due in the South Caucasus republic in September was not on the agenda.

"Those raising concerns on this issue are wrong," Davutoglu told the Baku-based ANS TV channel Wednesday. "There are no grounds for concern. First of all, these exercises are not warfare drills, but are related to what work has to be done and what action taken in case of earthquakes. As far as I know, Azerbaijan is joining these efforts as well…No issue regarding the border opening is on the agenda, and this issue is not even a topic of discussion."

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". In October 2009, in Zurich, the two governments signed agreements to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their borders. However, the accords require approval by both countries’ parliaments. This April, Yerevan suspended the parliamentary approval of the deals.

Media reports have claimed that the Turkish-Armenian border will temporarily reopen during the exercises due in Armenia within NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program September 11-17.

Azerbaijani officials have expressed confidence that Turkey, Azerbaijan’s ally, will not move to reopen the border.

"Turkey’s opening the border with aggressor Armenia today meets the interests of neither Turkey nor Azerbaijan," Presidential Administration department head Ali Hasanov told reporters.

Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory since the early 1990s. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but efforts by international mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

According to Hasanov, reopening the border with Armenia would "further untie the separatist regime’s hands" and cause its adherence to an even more non-constructive stance in the ongoing talks to settle the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Karabakh.

"We have brought this stance of ours to the attention of Turkish officials."

Hasanov recalled the assurances voiced by Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials.

"They have repeatedly stated that so long as Armenia has not arrived at a constructive stance regarding the Azerbaijani lands it occupies, and the problem [the Karabakh conflict] remains unresolved, the border between the two countries will not be opened."

Hasanov expressed confidence that Turkish officials will deliver on their promises.

"We trust Turkish officials’ words and think that as long as the conditions laid out have not been met, Turkey will not reopen its border with Armenia, no matter whose demand it is – NATO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, or any superpower."