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news.az, Azerbaijan
June 16 2011
Baku dismisses Armenian hopes of Turkish rapprochement
Thu 16 June 2011 11:39 GMT | 7:39 Local Time
Armenia needs to withdraw troops from occupied Azerbaijani land
before it can hope for normal relations with Turkey, a Baku-based
official has said.
Novruz Mammadov, head of the foreign policy department at the
Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, was commenting on remarks by
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.
Sargsyan said in an interview with the BBC Russian Service in London
that Armenia hoped Turkey would establish normal relations without
preconditions.
"To have closed borders in the 21st century is nonsense," Sargsyan said.
Turkey closed its land border with Armenia in solidarity with
Azerbaijan in 1993, when the war over Karabakh was at its height.
Turkish leaders have said that protocols on the establishment of
diplomatic relations with Armenia and on opening the land border,
signed in 2009, cannot be ratified until Armenia withdraws troops from
occupied Azerbaijani land, the preconditions to which Tigran Sargsyan
was alluding.
Azerbaijani presidential official Novruz Mammadov told 1news.az that
Armenia needed no preconditions to withdraw its troops from occupied
Azerbaijani land.
"As for the values of the 21st century that are often discussed by the
leaders of the aggressor country, it is nonsense in our century to
apply a completely medieval manner of enhancing one's territory
through annexation of the internationally recognized land of a
neighbouring state which is a UN member. It is absurd to devastate
whole cities and villages and sell the looted materials second-hand.
"Their hope for legitimization of the illegal occupation by settling
their unwise countrymen in the occupied lands and cruelly playing with
their lives is also absurd. This nonsense can be listed endlessly,
since it has become a part of the political culture of the Armenian
state which does not understand that Turkey and Azerbaijan are so
close that it is impossible to be at odds with one hand and hope for a
friendly handshake with the other. And it is a pity that Armenia does
not understand this simple truth and still has some fantastic hopes,"
Mammadov said.
The spat comes just over a week before a summit of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents, to be mediated by Russian President Dmitriy
Medvedev in Kazan. Mediators have urged the sides to prepare their
people for peace and to take a major step towards a settlement.
Sargsyan's comments in full
Asked by the BBC Russian Service whether the return of the AK Party to
power in Turkey would change relations between Yerevan and Ankara,
Tigran Sargsyan said: "We hope that in Turkey the attitudes towards
regulating Turkish-Armenian relations will be consistent, in
particular, to the signed protocols, the essence of which is that two
neighbouring countries intend to establish normal relations without
any preconditions. The position of Armenia over the past 20 years has
not changed. We are ready to establish diplomatic relations with
Turkey without any preconditions. And the agreements that were reached
with the Turkish side were based on this understanding of the
situation. We would be glad if our Turkish colleagues also came to
that conclusion. To have closed borders in the 21st century is
nonsense."
News.Az
June 16 2011
Baku dismisses Armenian hopes of Turkish rapprochement
Thu 16 June 2011 11:39 GMT | 7:39 Local Time
Armenia needs to withdraw troops from occupied Azerbaijani land
before it can hope for normal relations with Turkey, a Baku-based
official has said.
Novruz Mammadov, head of the foreign policy department at the
Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, was commenting on remarks by
Armenian Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan.
Sargsyan said in an interview with the BBC Russian Service in London
that Armenia hoped Turkey would establish normal relations without
preconditions.
"To have closed borders in the 21st century is nonsense," Sargsyan said.
Turkey closed its land border with Armenia in solidarity with
Azerbaijan in 1993, when the war over Karabakh was at its height.
Turkish leaders have said that protocols on the establishment of
diplomatic relations with Armenia and on opening the land border,
signed in 2009, cannot be ratified until Armenia withdraws troops from
occupied Azerbaijani land, the preconditions to which Tigran Sargsyan
was alluding.
Azerbaijani presidential official Novruz Mammadov told 1news.az that
Armenia needed no preconditions to withdraw its troops from occupied
Azerbaijani land.
"As for the values of the 21st century that are often discussed by the
leaders of the aggressor country, it is nonsense in our century to
apply a completely medieval manner of enhancing one's territory
through annexation of the internationally recognized land of a
neighbouring state which is a UN member. It is absurd to devastate
whole cities and villages and sell the looted materials second-hand.
"Their hope for legitimization of the illegal occupation by settling
their unwise countrymen in the occupied lands and cruelly playing with
their lives is also absurd. This nonsense can be listed endlessly,
since it has become a part of the political culture of the Armenian
state which does not understand that Turkey and Azerbaijan are so
close that it is impossible to be at odds with one hand and hope for a
friendly handshake with the other. And it is a pity that Armenia does
not understand this simple truth and still has some fantastic hopes,"
Mammadov said.
The spat comes just over a week before a summit of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani presidents, to be mediated by Russian President Dmitriy
Medvedev in Kazan. Mediators have urged the sides to prepare their
people for peace and to take a major step towards a settlement.
Sargsyan's comments in full
Asked by the BBC Russian Service whether the return of the AK Party to
power in Turkey would change relations between Yerevan and Ankara,
Tigran Sargsyan said: "We hope that in Turkey the attitudes towards
regulating Turkish-Armenian relations will be consistent, in
particular, to the signed protocols, the essence of which is that two
neighbouring countries intend to establish normal relations without
any preconditions. The position of Armenia over the past 20 years has
not changed. We are ready to establish diplomatic relations with
Turkey without any preconditions. And the agreements that were reached
with the Turkish side were based on this understanding of the
situation. We would be glad if our Turkish colleagues also came to
that conclusion. To have closed borders in the 21st century is
nonsense."
News.Az