Turkish parliamentarian: It is impossible to reopen Turkey-Armenia border until Armenia ends Karabakh’s occupation

Armenian Constitutional Court has announced the Armenia-Turkey protocols consistent with country’s laws with preconditions which has caused Turkey’s discontent. In your opinion, will the protocols be ratified finally?

Turkey’s PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that it is impossible to normalize relations between Turkey and Armenia until Azerbaijan’s seven Armenia-occupied lands are liberated. The Prime Minister recalled the UN resolutions on Nagorno-Karabakh asking the rhetorical question, "who now must make the first move?". He replied to this question himself: "Armenia should take the first step. Azerbaijan’s seven regions should be liberated. Without solving this problem, Turkey will do nothing to normalize relations with Armenia.”

We want to believe in Turkish Prime Minister’s promise. Armenia should resolve its problems with Azerbaijan and, first and foremost, the Karabakh issue.

Armenians usually step up “genocide” propaganda before April 24. This year ratification of the protocols by Turkey will also be highlighted. Can Turkey reopen its border with Armenia as a result of outside pressure before April 24?

It is impossible to reopen borders with Armenia until Armenia rescind its decision on invalidity of the Kars Treaty of 1921 and Gumri Treaty of 1920, which defines the border between Turkey and Armenia, abolishes the item declaring Anatolia "Western Armenia" in the Act of Independence, removes Mount Ağrı from its coat of arms and changes the related article in its Constitution, renounces its false "Armenian genocide" claims, stops smear campaign against Turkey and Turkish people in the international arena, eliminates causes that led to the closure of borders between the two countries in 1993 and takes steps to return nearly one  million Azerbaijani refugees to their homes and puts an end to Karabakh’s occupation.

Pressure from Armenians and international community can not change this reality.

May Erdogan’s recent Russia trip change anything in terms of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict?

In May 2009, Turkish PM Erdogan called on to take active steps to settle the Karabakh conflict. At that time Russia announced that "the problem should be resolved by the sides to the conflict." During a recent visit to Moscow, Erdogan again raised the issue, and Russian officials said they were ready to do utmost in this regard, but believe that the Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish problems should be resolved in a package version.

This means that Russia takes the issue from a political standpoint, and it has no initiatives in this respect. So, it is wrong to expect something from Russia and hope that it will contribute to solving the problem. Russia has shown its attitude to this issue many times over the past 20 years.

Will the MHP change position on protection of Azerbaijan's interests in settlement of the Karabakh conflict and Armenian-Turkish relations?

Late national leader Heydar Aliyev once said "We are two states, but one nation." Our Nationalist Movement Party has always approached such issues from this point of view, and we will continue to treat them the same way. Azerbaijan is our brotherly country. There can be no other opinion. Your pain is our pain, and the MHP will always protect Azerbaijan’s interest and will do everything possible to address the problems of the fraternal country.

Day.Az