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Turkey demands Karabakh progress
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8048823.stm
Tu rkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled out re-opening the
border with Armenia until it pulls troops out of Azerbaijan.
Turkey and Armenia last month agreed a framework to normalise their
strained relations, raising hopes their long-sealed border might be
re-opened.
That raised concerns in Azerbaijan, where Armenian troops occupy the
enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
But Mr Erdogan said a thaw with Armenia would not come at Azerbaijan's
expense.
Speaking in the Azeri capital, Baku, he reiterated his backing for Turkey's
long-standing alliance with Azerbaijan.
"The border was closed as a result of the occupation of Azeri territories
and therefore it will not be opened until the occupation ends," he said at
a news conference with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.
Nagorno-Karabakh lies inside Azerbaijan but has been controlled by ethnic
Armenians since a war in the 1990s, which left some 30,000 people dead and
forced more than one million people from their homes.
While Turkey and Armenia have been engaged in a cautious rapprochement, so
have Armenia and Azerbaijan, including meetings between their leaders.
International diplomats have spoken of a new air of co-operation between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, and there is pressure for them to work towards an
agreement.
But Azerbaijan has protested over the potential thaw between Turkey and
Armenia, fearing the loss of its leverage over Armenia through its alliance
with Turkey.
BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8048823.stm
Tu rkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ruled out re-opening the
border with Armenia until it pulls troops out of Azerbaijan.
Turkey and Armenia last month agreed a framework to normalise their
strained relations, raising hopes their long-sealed border might be
re-opened.
That raised concerns in Azerbaijan, where Armenian troops occupy the
enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
But Mr Erdogan said a thaw with Armenia would not come at Azerbaijan's
expense.
Speaking in the Azeri capital, Baku, he reiterated his backing for Turkey's
long-standing alliance with Azerbaijan.
"The border was closed as a result of the occupation of Azeri territories
and therefore it will not be opened until the occupation ends," he said at
a news conference with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev.
Nagorno-Karabakh lies inside Azerbaijan but has been controlled by ethnic
Armenians since a war in the 1990s, which left some 30,000 people dead and
forced more than one million people from their homes.
While Turkey and Armenia have been engaged in a cautious rapprochement, so
have Armenia and Azerbaijan, including meetings between their leaders.
International diplomats have spoken of a new air of co-operation between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, and there is pressure for them to work towards an
agreement.
But Azerbaijan has protested over the potential thaw between Turkey and
Armenia, fearing the loss of its leverage over Armenia through its alliance
with Turkey.