Turkish president calls for talks on Karabakh conflict

It is necessary to organize comprehensive negotiations in the near future for settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

He made the remarks in Moscow at a Turkey-Russia High Level Cooperation Council meeting, Anadolu Agency reported Mar. 10.

Erdogan said what is happening on the contact line between Armenian and Azerbaijani troops shows how critical the situation is.

He expressed confidence that Russia, as one of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, can play an important role in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.