BAKU: Ankara Will Always Support Baku At Karabakh-Related Negotiatio

ANKARA WILL ALWAYS SUPPORT BAKU AT KARABAKH-RELATED NEGOTIATIONS – TURKISH PRIME MINISTER

Trend News Agency
June 5 2008
Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan, Baku, 4 June /Trend News corr M. Guliyev/ " Turkey
will always support Baku’s equitable position in settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," the Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in Nakhchivan on 4 June after
negotiations with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

The Turkish Prime Minister is paying a 1-day official visit to the
Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan (NAR). In the first
half of the day, Erdogan held twosome negotiations with Azerbaijani
President. Moreover, Aliyev and Erdogan headed the negotiations between
two countries’ governmental delegations at the NAR Supreme Assembly
(Parliament).

At the briefing after negotiations, President Aliyev thanked Turkey
for its permanent support to Azerbaijan in the peace negotiations
with Armenia.

The conflict between the two countries of the South Caucasus began
in 1988 due to Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since
1992, Armenian Armed Forces have occupied 20% of Azerbaijan including
the Nagorno-Karabakh region and its seven surrounding districts. In
1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement at which
time the active hostilities ended. The Co-Chairs of the OSCE Minsk
Group ( Russia, France, and the US) are currently holding peaceful
negotiations.