Turkey names reason for not normalizing ties with Armenia

Turkey does not open its border with Armenia because of the occupation of Azerbaijani territory, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said in his speech at the Conference "Foreign policy and public diplomacy of Turkey" at the Uludag University, the Beyazqazete agency reported on Saturday.

Thanks to its "zero problems" policy with its neighbors, Ankara plans to improve relations with the region's countries, Arinc said.

"As a result of Ankara's policy, relations with Russia and Georgia have been normalized," Arinc said.

Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandyan signed Protocols of normalization of bilateral relations in Zurich on Oct.10, 2009. The Protocols need to be ratified by the parliaments of the two countries in order to enter into force.

Turkish government earlier stated that relations between Ankara and Yerevan will be restored after Armenia withdraws its forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.


/Trend/