POLITICS
Turkish PM: No normalization with Armenia unless Nagorno-Karabakh issue gets resolved
Baku, May 1 (AZERTAC). Chairman of Turkey`s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that "unless the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh gets resolved, it was impossible for our relations with Armenia to get normalized".
Speaking at a public rally in eastern province of Igdir on Sunday, Erdogan said that Azerbaijan`s sadness and happiness were the sadness and happiness of Turkey.
I want to say one more time in Igdir. Unless the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh gets resolved, it is impossible for our relations to be normal with Armenia, Erdogan said.
As of the day of their establishment, we have been behind Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh. We will continue to stand behind them always. No one should expect anything else from us about the issue, Erdogan also said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the United States - mediate peace talks.
Armenia has not yet fulfilled four resolutions of the U.N. Security Council on withdrawal of its occupying forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.