BAKU: Turkish PM: Armenian Rapprochement Depends On Karabakh

TURKISH PM: ARMENIAN RAPPROCHEMENT DEPENDS ON KARABAKH

news.az
April 15 2010
Azerbaijan

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeated that the border
between Turkey and Armenia will remain closed until a settlement is
reached on Karabakh.

Erdogan made the remarks to reporters on his arrival in Turkey from
the United States where he attended the Nuclear Security Summit.

‘The occupation of Azerbaijan’s territory is the reason why our border
[with Armenia] was closed in 1993. Now we want that to be fixed and
we are ready to take the step as soon as that happens,’ the prime
minister said.

He said Turkey stood behind the commitments it made in the protocols
with Armenia, signed in October 2009 in Switzerland.

‘We respect the principle of pacta sunt servanda [agreements must be
kept] and are committed to what we signed in Zurich. But no one has
the right to impose their own memories on Turkey, just as Turkey has
never tried do to this [to anyone else],’ Erdogan said.

Asked about Iran’s nuclear program, Erdogan said, ‘A different version
of the Nuclear Security Summit in the USA on 12-13 April will be held
in Iran on 16-17 April. Officials from Turkey will attend the meeting.

On numerous occasions, we have stressed that a democratic and
diplomatic solution is the only way, since anti-democratic attempts
have always led to human tragedies.

‘On the other hand, Turkey is the only country among the member states
of the United Nations Security Council that has a border with Iran.

There have been friendly relations between Turkey and Iran since the
Treaty of Zohab in 1639. Our border is about 380 km. Our trade volume
exceeded $10 billion. Iran is our second biggest supplier of natural
gas after Russia. We cannot leave aside all those relations. Our
friends should realize this.’

Asked whether Kurmanbek Bakiyev, the ousted leader of Kyrgyzstan, had
sought asylum in Turkey, Prime Minister Erdogan said, ‘No such request
has been made. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has held a series of
telephone conversations with US officials about the developments in
Kyrgyzstan. We are ready to do our utmost to find a solution.’

The prime minister also expressed his profound sorrow over the loss
of life in the earthquake in China.