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Turkish ambassador to Russia: â€œArmenia must understand that it has to take some stepsâ€

26 May 2009 14:08 (UTC +04:00)

Moscow â€“ APA. â€œThe problems between Turkey and Armenia are not limited only with the closing of bordersâ€, Turkish ambassador Halil Akinci said, APA reports quoting Armenia Today. He reminded that Turkey-Azerbaijan relations are based on the principle â€œone nation-two statesâ€ and said there were different approaches to the historical realities. â€œThe borders were closed in 1993. Armenia occupied Nagorny Karabakh and seven nearby regions of Azerbaijan in that timeâ€.

The diplomat said air corridor between Turkey and Armenia was open and there were flights from Istanbul to Yerevan. He said Ankara pursued policy toward solution of the problems with its neighbors recently. â€œThe diplomatic relations should be established, but Karabakh problem should also be solved in parallel because those are issues related with each other. Turkey showed good will last year and our president visited Yerevan to watch the football match. We are pursuing optimal policy toward Armenia, but it also must understand that it has to take some steps. Our most sincere intention is that to make all borders open in the Caucasus and everyone to be a friend to each otherâ€.