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Erdogan: â€œWhile ratifying the protocols the parliament will take into consideration the settlement of Azerbaijan-Armenia problemâ€

13 October 2009 12:21 (UTC +04:00)

We have made a path, but the Turkish parliament will say the final word,â€ Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the meeting of AKPâ€™s parliamentary faction, APA reports. He underlined that they wish Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the problems between Armenia and Azerbaijan to be solved and noted the participation of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries at the signing ceremony in Zurich.
â€œWith this we demonstrated our delicacy and attention to the problem. Unfortunately, Minsk Group could not produce results within 20 years. Azerbaijan and Armenia hold meetings, but there are no results. We have discussed it a lot with Azerbaijani leadership, my honorable brother Ilham Aliyev. Both processes have gone simultaneously up to now,â€ he said.

Erdogan answered severe critical remarks and accusations against him in Turkey. He mentioned that the late leader of the National Movement Party Alparslan Turkesh held meetings with the then president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan in Europe.
â€œThose who slander should not forget that their deceased leader held meetings with Armenian leadership in various hotels. They are either deaf, or do not understand the happenings. We know what we are doing. We do not want Azerbaijan to face any negative results. We have stated several times that we are acting in accordance with our speech in Azerbaijani parliament. Our brothers in Azerbaijan say â€œWe rely on Turkey, while the local people do not believe their Prime Minister.â€

According to Turkish Prime Minister, if the problem between Azerbaijan and Armenia is solved, it will facilitate Turkish publicâ€™s approving the protocols signed with Armenia and the parliamentâ€™s ratifying the documents.
â€œThe protocols will be submitted to the Turkish parliament next week. Our Foreign Minister will address the parliament and inform the parliamentarians. But the parliament will focus its attention on Azerbaijan-Armenia problem. The border can be reopened two months after the ratification. This plan will not work without the ratification,â€ he said.

Erdogan mentioned that Turks and Armenians lived in the atmosphere of kind neighborhood and friendship for centuries and there still are craftsmen trained by Armenians in Turkey.
â€œWe all are moved to tears when we listen to Sari gelin â€“ no matter whether it belongs to Azeris, Turks, Armenians. Though the words are different, we understand the same meaning with its song. We should establish our common future together with the peacekeeping policy. We do not Armenian people to suffer from the hostile policy of the Diaspora. Maybe those who tell tales from Paris do not pay attention to the problems of Armenian people, but we believe we will establish friendship with Armenia facing the future together,â€ he said.