Minsk Group fails to make progress in Nagorno-Karabakh: Turkish FM

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

The Armenian occupation of Azarbaijani territory in Nagorno-Karabakh had been going on for 17 years, Davutoglu told the Anatolian Agency in Damascus, where he is attending the 36th meeting of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers.

He added it was hard to disagree with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who recently criticized the performance of the Minsk Group, which was set up in 1992 and co-chaired by Russia, the United States and France.

"The historic record shows it. There has been no progress. It is time to revive this process. Turkey will continue its efforts," Davutoglu said.

Ankara cut diplomatic links with Yerevan and closed the border in a show of support to Azerbaijan in 1993 after 20 percent of its territory was invaded by Armenia in the disputed region -- a frozen conflict legacy of the Soviet Union known as Nagorno-Karabakh.

Earlier this month, Armenian President Serge Sargsyan and Aliyev held their fourth meeting aimed at resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, under supervision from the Minsk Group of international mediators.

Davutoglu also said Sunday that Aliyev and Sargsyan would meet on numerous occasions in the coming period and expressed his wish that those meetings bring a solution that would please all parties.

The Turkish foreign minister will travel to Baku on Monday together with his Azarbaijani counterpart Elmar Mammadyarov. He will hold meetings with Mammadyarov and Aliyev on a wide range of issues including the Nagorno-Karabakh issue.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has also urged the so-called Minsk group to speed up efforts to find a solution to Nagorno-Karabakh.