Ambassador of Azerbaijan to Turkey denies crisis in ties with Turkey

Speaking to reporters on Thursday evening during a reception celebrating the anniversary of the establishment of the Turkish Parliament, Hashimov said Turkey has every right to establish relations with any foreign country but that its relations with Armenia need to go hand-in-hand with theresolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh crisis. He stated that President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had both offered assurances to Azerbaijan on the matter.

Hashimov expressed his state's position towards a possible opening of the border between Turkey and Armenia as well. He stressed that they could only accept this if five out of seven districts surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh region that are occupied by Armenian forces are first evacuated and settled by Azerbaijanis. He said the Turkish-Armenian border could be opened before discussions over the eventual status of Nagorno-Karabakh, which he said would begin after the evacuation and Azerbaijani resettlement of the remaining two districts as well as Nagorno-Karabakh.

The ambassador drew attention to the visit of Azerbaijani Minister of Defense Safar Abiyev to Ankara yesterday, indicating that channels are always open between his country and Turkey.

/Today's Zaman/