ANKARA: Turkey’s PM Urges Solution To "Azerbaijani-Armenian Dispute"

TURKEY’S PM URGES SOLUTION TO "AZERBAIJANI-ARMENIAN DISPUTE" ON KARABAKH

Anadolu Agency
April 8 2009
Turkey

Istanbul, 8 April: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said
that it was difficult to overcome problems between Turkey and Armenia
unless Azerbaijan-Armenian dispute was resolved.

Prime Minister Erdogan told reporters, "there has been a difficult
process between Azerbaijan and Armenia for years. We have a difficulty
stemming from that process. It is difficult to overcome problems
between Turkey and Armenia unless Azerbaijani-Armenian dispute is
resolved. We hope that the United Nations Security Council will
acknowledge Armenia as an occupier in Upper Karabakh and take a
decision to call on Armenia to withdraw from the region. The Minsk
Group has been trying to resolve that dispute for more than 17 years."

"Turkey has already taken a step and proposed to form the Caucasian
Stability and Cooperation Platform with the participation of Turkey,
Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. The Azerbaijani-Armenian
dispute should be resolved first. Then, problems between Turkey and
Armenia can be solved too," Prime Minister Erdogan said.