Turkish MPs tell Azeris opening Armenian border unacceptable

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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Turkish and Azerbaijani parliamentarians attended the meeting "Azerbaijan-Turkey: Common Interests and Problems" held in the Azeri capital of Baku.

"Turkey wants peace, tranquility and security to prevail in the Southern Caucasus. However, peace and security cannot be ensured in the region because of the ongoing Armenian occupation. Also, Armenia's occupation of  Nogorno-Karabakh was the reason (for the decision) that led to the closure of border crossings between Turkey and Armenia", Sukru Elekdag from the main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, was quoted by Anatolian Agency as saying during the meeting. 

Elekdag added that the U.N Security Council, the Council of Europe and several other international organizations have said that Armenia violated international law and that it should withdraw from Azerbaijani territories immediately. "But Armenia ignored all of them," he said.

"Now, if Turkey opens its border crossings with Armenia, it will have awarded the occupier. It is unacceptable. Public surveys reveal that 95 percent of Turkish people agree that the border crossings should not be opened before a satisfactory solution is found," Elekdag said.

Atila Kaya from the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, told the meeting that the border crossings with Armenia should not be opened unless progress was made in regard to the incidents of 1915 and the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute.

Ankara and Yerevan have no diplomatic relations. Their border was closed in 1993 over Armenia's invasion of 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory and over pressure exerted on the international community, with the backing of the diaspora, to recognize the so-called "genocide" claims instead of accepting Turkey's call to investigate the allegations.

Turkey and Armenia, however, have been engaged in a normalization process, including the reopening of the border, since Gul paid a landmark visit to Armenia last year to watch a World Cup qualifying football match between the countries’ national teams. 

Azeri officials have expressed concern over the prospect of the border being reopened and some media reports suggested that Baku might even go one step further in halting the sale of natural gas to Turkey.

Azerbaijan, which has strong cultural and historic ties with Turkey, says opening the border before the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the country’s occupied territories would run counter to its national interests.