Turkey spells out precondition for reopening Armenian border
29.05.2020 05:43
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said his government would open the sealed border with Armenia on condition that Armenia returns at least one of several regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan.
"If Armenians withdrew from at least one district, the border could be opened,” Davutoglu said at a meeting with the leaders of non-Muslim and non-governmental organizations in Ankara, according to Haber Turk TV.
Davutoglu added that Armenians living in Turkey are part of the country and should not suffer because of the strained relations between Ankara and Yerevan. "The Armenian Diaspora is not an enemy to us, it is our Diaspora,” he said.
Turkey and Armenia have no diplomatic relations. Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 after Armenians captured Azerbaijan's Kalbacar District.
Armenia is still occupying nearly one-fifth of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, since a war in the early 1990s.
While major hostilities ended with a cease-fire in 1994, no peace agreement has been signed.
Armenia has yet to comply with four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal from the occupied territory.
ANN.Az
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