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Spokesman for Turkish parliamentâ€™s foreign affairs commission: The discussion of the protocols signed with Armenia depends on Azerbaijan

25 November 2009 15:55 (UTC +04:00)

He said that the discussion of the protocols in the commission depends on Azerbaijan.
â€œOur President and Prime Minister regularly contact Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. If Ilham Aliyev says that the problems are being solved and it is high time for us to take some steps, we will include these protocols into the agenda of the commission,â€ he said.
Metin Yilmaz said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and chairman of the parliamentâ€™s foreign affairs commission had discussions concerning it.
â€œOur parliamentarians held discussions in Azerbaijan under the leadership of the chairman of our commission. We will not take any steps concerning the protocols unless we reach the stage of solution satisfying Azerbaijan,â€ he said.
The parliamentarian commented on the reconsideration of the bill on the recognition of â€œArmenian genocideâ€ in the U.S. Congress.
â€œSuch bills are included into the agenda of the Congress every year before April 24. There is some tension, but it calms down every year after the U.S. President does not use the word â€œgenocideâ€ in his message. The genocide claims have nothing to do with the release of the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenians. Our main aim is the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from occupation as soon as possible. We offer Armenia to establish a joint commission. All our archives are open â€“ archives should be open so that the genocide claims are discussed objectively. Therefore, we first of all demand the opening of the archives. Irrespective of their demands, the main stipulation for us will be Armeniaâ€™s releasing the occupied Azerbaijani territories,â€ he said.