Azerbaijani foreign minisry issues statement on Turkey-Armenia protocols

"Regarding the signing of protocols on establishing diplomatic relations between Turkey and Armenia and on establishment of bilateral relations on Oct. 10 this year in Switzerland,  Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan considers it appropriate to report the following.

Azerbaijan's stance on this issue is unambiguous. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in protest against the occupation of Azerbaijani territories by Armenia and aggression towards Azerbaijan. As a result of Armenian aggression 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands were occupied, nearly 1 million citizens of Azerbaijan were victims of ethnic cleansing and have become refugees and internally displaced persons and historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijan have been destroyed at the occupied territories.

Since then Armenia has ignored numerous documents and resolutions adopted by the Security Council and UN General Assembly, the OSCE, PACE and other international organizations that condemn the aggressive policy of Armenia, demand withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territories and return of refugees to their homeland and no progress has been reached to eliminate the results of this aggression.

In connection with this matter Azerbaijani side refers to the numerous statements by senior officials of the Turkish Republic and Prime Minister Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in particular to his words during a speech made on May 14, 2009 in Milli Majlis of Azerbaijan Republic: "Turkey closed its border with Armenia after its occupation of Azerbaijani lands. The borders can be opened only after the occupation is put an end. As long as the requirements of our Azerbaijani brothers will not be satisfied, we will not retreat one step from this position. It is interconnected and can not be considered separately"

The Foreign Ministry also refers to the statement by the Turkish prime minister made at the September 17 iftar to the Turkish media: "We can not open the borders until the long-drawn conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia is resolved ... We can not take this step without solving this problem."

As we have repeatedly noted, establishing relations of one state with another is a sovereign right of each state. However, normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia before the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territory is in direct contradiction with the interests of Azerbaijan and overshadows the spirit of brotherly relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey built on deep historical roots. Taking into account the importance of opening all borders and communications in the region, Azerbaijan believes that the opening of Turkish-Armenian border unilaterally call into question the architecture of peace and stability in the region " said the statement.

/Trend News/