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Turkish premier addresses Azerbaijan Assembly on Armenia, Cyprus, EU

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  • Turkish premier addresses Azerbaijan Assembly on Armenia, Cyprus, EU

    Turkish premier addresses Azerbaijan Assembly on Armenia, Cyprus, EU, Eurasia

    Anatolia news agency, Ankara
    30 Jun 05

    Baku, 30 June: It is obligatory for Armenia, which continues to
    occupy Azerbaijani territory in contravention of UN resolutions, to
    show its will to improve relations with its neighbours within the
    framework of respect to international law and good-neighbourhood,
    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday [30 June].

    Addressing the Azerbaijani National Assembly, Erdogan underlined
    good relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, and said that the
    two countries aimed to assure peace, stability and prosperity in
    their region.

    Erdogan said that Turkey was ready to extend every support to
    Azerbaijan during the parliamentary elections due in November, and
    stated that Turkey could contribute to the international monitoring
    delegation if it was asked to.

    Turkey's EU membership bid

    Touching on Turkey's European Union (EU) membership bid, Erdogan said:
    "Turkey should be admitted to the EU. What will happen if it isn't? We
    will continue our path, naming the 'Copenhagen political criteria'
    as 'Ankara political criteria'. We consider the EU as a union of
    values. And, we say that it should also include Muslim countries. The
    EU should be the address where civilizations meet and reconcile. If
    EU wants to be such an Union, it should admit Turkey."

    Old disputes

    "Despite rapid changes in the world, security and stability are
    not yet established in international arena," Erdogan said, adding:
    "Old disputes hampered improvement of relations between countries of
    the region; fight against cross-border crimes became more and more
    difficult each passing day; and proliferation of weapons of mass
    destruction caused concerns."

    Erdogan stated that terrorism continued to threaten societies
    despite increasing international cooperation, and indicated that the
    international community was still searching for peace, stability,
    justice, fair distribution of income, better management and efficient
    international cooperation.

    Turkey's Eurasia vision

    "Linking Europe to Asia through energy pipelines and transit roads,
    and creating new dynamics to ensure economic growth are the basis of
    Turkey's Eurasia vision," said Erdogan.

    Erdogan went on saying: "Turkey encourages positive changes in the
    region from the Black Sea to the Caucasus, and to the Middle East. It
    aims to establish a climate of cooperation instead of tension and
    clashes. One of the main targets of our foreign policy is to contribute
    to the solution of ongoing disputes in our region."

    "It is for the common interest of Turkey and Azerbaijan to assure
    lasting peace, security and stability in Southern Caucasus. Solution
    of Upper Karabakh dispute through peaceful means, and by the
    safeguard of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, will contribute to
    regional stability. The Council of Europe has declared Armenia as
    'occupier'. What they (Armenia) should do is to withdraw from the
    Upper Karabakh, as soon as possible. But, instead of doing so, they
    (the Armenians) continue their lobby activities and their efforts
    to justify their so-called genocide allegations. We have opened our
    archives. They have not given an answer yet, because they know they
    are wrong," said Erdogan.

    Erdogan noted: "What is important for Turkey regarding the Upper
    Karabakh dispute is what the Azerbaijani people want. A solution,
    which will be in the best interest of the Azerbaijani people, will
    be supported by Turkey."

    Prime Minister Erdogan expressed his belief that Turkey's EU membership
    would also help to the rapprochement of Caucasian peoples with the EU.

    Cyprus

    Touching on Cyprus problem, Erdogan said: "We know that Azerbaijan
    shares our view that Turkish Cypriots should be freed from
    international isolation."

    Recalling that Azerbaijan would soon start flights to [self-declared]
    TRNC [Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus], Erdogan said that Turkish
    Cypriots fulfilled their responsibilities, but their interlocutors
    did not.

    Erdogan later met Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur [Tahir] Rasizada.
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