Turkish MP: Turkey will never agree to open borders with Armenia under current situation

Day.Az: Has Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s U.S. trip led to any progress in ratification of the Turkey-Armenia protocols?

Murat Ozkan: There is no progress in this regard yet. It is impossible to discuss this issue without deoccupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. First, because a forced change in geographical boundaries of Azerbaijan is contrary to international laws and principles. Secondly, Turkey considers Azerbaijan’s problems as its own and will never agree to open borders with Armenia under current situation.

Recently, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that "Turkey must fulfill its obligations under the protocols.” We are outraged by this statement. A person who took part in occupation of Azerbaijani territories and committed Khojaly massacre cannot make ultimatum to Turkey. If the U.S. acts in unison with Armenia on this issue, it  will bring no good results.

Armenian media says Sargsyan stressed a need to amend the Constitution so that Armenia will have a right to withdraw its signatures from under the international documents. If these changes are implemented, Armenia will be able to recall its signature from the protocols. Do you think Sargsyan’s proposals mean pressure on Turkey?

How Sargsyan can put pressure on Turkey? Neither Armenia nor anyone else can put pressure on Turkey. If they dare, they will get an adequate response. After signing of the protocols, Sargsyan stated that they are not going to liberate occupied lands. This happened in front of eyes of the U.S. and the EU which call for warming of relations between the countries. Armenia has no right to demand something from Turkey untill Armenia withdraws from the occupied territories and the refugees return to their homes.

After all, they will withdraw from all occupied Azerbaijani lands and pay compensation to Azerbaijan for damages from the occupation. Only after this we can sit at the negotiating table with them and decide what to do next. Amendments to the Constitution are Armenia’s internal affair. With regard to withdrawal of signatures, Armenians have never stood up for their signatures throughout the history. They are known for their treachery and abandonment of their promises. They will not stand up for their signatures even without amendments to the Constitution.

Are reports claiming that President Obama has urged Prime Minister Erdogan to accelerate ratification of the protocols true?

The prime minister did not spoke of this issue. But it became known from the backstage conversations that Obama touched upon this issue. Erdogan has also outright stated the parliament  will not debate the protocols without resolution of the Karabakh conflict. He recalled that the Turkish government has fulfilled its task and now it's up the parliament and the Turkish people. The parliament and the Turkish people are opposed to any official relations with the Armenia untill the Karabakh problem is resolved.

Turkey is a democratic country. People elect deputies and deputies are obliged to comply with people’s interests and fulfill their will. Today, people are urging not to ratify the Turkish-Armenian protocols. This issue is not solved by someone's call. If you remember, the U.S. had the consent of the Turkey’s government to attack on Iraq through Turkish airspace, but parliament rejected this move. So, the deal never took place.

The Turkish government cannot violate the law. Moreover, Erdogan announced at the Azerbaijani parliament  that Turks would never betray their brothers. History of Turkey is much more ancient than the history of the United States. The Turkic empires covered the map of the world at a time even the U.S. did not even exist.

What is the true reason for resignation of Turkish ambassador to the U.S.?

This ambassador was true diplomat with great experience. He has never been negligent of his duties. I think the ambassador did not make any mistake.

The United States has decided to introduce a package of assistance to the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh...

This question has a negative effect on the U.S. credibility throughout the world. Although Obama is Nobel Peace Prize winner, he helps the separatist group that has killed thousands of people. U.S. and Barack Obama cannot find any truthful reasons for this help. They have declared war on terrorism their top priority while they aid Armenian terrorists. U.S. helps the terrorist regime ignoring one million Azerbaijanis who have been subjected to terrorism. Why they do not allocate funds for the Azerbaijani community of Karabakh? I think the Turkish MPs should support their Azerbaijani counterparts in this matter and protest the United States.

The OSCE Minsk Group efforts to resolve the Karabakh conflict have been fruitless so far. In your opinion, will further activities of the group yield fruits in future?

The Minsk Group has moved not a jot  in settlement of the problem for several years. This mission should go to the archives of history. I think the co-chair countries should admit their failure and resign. These three countries should assess outcomes of their activities. Either new moderators should be tasked with resolving the conflict or the conflicting sides should resolve it themselves. Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders have sufficient experience in joint negotiations. They can talk without mediators. The co-chairs cannot compel the parties to anything.

According to the media, the Turkish Diaspora in the U.S. has addressed the  Congress to contribute to reconciliation with the Armenian Diaspora ...

There is no Turkish Diaspora the U.S. due to small number of Turks. They cannot influence the Congress or the Armenian Diaspora. We studied this issue through our channels. I can responsibly say that there was no such a request. This is a lie of the Armenian Diaspora and the media.

Azerbaijani MPs have proposed to declare 2010 the year of Khojaly. Will Turkey take steps to recognize Khojaly genocide in the coming year?

This is a great initiative and I support it. NMP brings recognition of Khojali genocide to the agenda of the parliament each year. We will do our best in this regard in future. When we see TV footage on the Khojaly massacre, it cannot hold our tears.

Sargsyan, who has brutally killed innocent children, women and elderly in Khojaly, is now the president of Armenia. Such a notorious criminal travels freely around the world carrying out his policies. He once said that they committed the Khojaly massacre not in order to scare the Azerbaijanis, but to show what they are able to do. He is a criminal who committed war crimes and must be brought to justice. His place is not presidency, but international tribunal. Armenians should be ashamed of a man who rules them.

Armenians will not be able to erase this dirty trick from pages of world history. I was in Igdir during the Khojaly massacre. We periodically visited Nakhchivan and discussed with our friends the ways to help Khojaly. Unfortunately, executioners like Sargsyan reached Khojaly before us, and committed the massacre. The Turks should not forget history, in particular, Khojaly events.

Day.Az