TURKEY’S FM RESPONDS TO QUESTIONS CONCERNING ANKARA’S FUTURE POLICY ABOUT ARMENIA
On January 28, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Babacan responded to the questions of journalists about official Ankara’s future policy towards Armenia.
Babacan said air routes were opened from Yerevan to Istanbul a few years ago. He added though the borders are closed between the two countries, Turkish goods are being transported to Armenia via Georgia and are available in Armenia’s shops. The Minister said due to hard social condition in Armenia, approximately 70,000 residents left for Istanbul or other Turkish cities to find a job.
He underlined “in spite of Turkey’s benevolence, Armenian government and diaspora are continuing to spread so-called “armenian genocide” claims over the world, which seriously harms the relations”.
The Turkish official said “the other problem is an occupation of 20% of the Azerbaijani lands by Armenians”.
He noted despite international organizations, including the United Nations (UN) had repeatedly called on Armenia to withdraw its forces from Azerbaijan’s lands, "this issue is still frozen".
The Minister added official Ankara hopes there would be a change in Yerevan’s stance after the presidential elections in Armenia.
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