Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with the Russian and U.S. presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Barack Obama within the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, Turkish media reported.
During the 15-minute meeting with the head of the White House, Erdogan said that the effective role of the OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia, the United States and France, could accelerate the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the website of the Turkish publication Beyaz Gazete reported.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994.
The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. – are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories. Как сказал, в свою очередь, президент
Obama understands the importance of resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. He also added that Turkey should return its relations with Israel to former level and continue the process of normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations, Hurriyet reported.
According to Erdogan, Ankara agreed upon the normalization of relations with Yerevan, despite that Turkey’s proposal to establish a joint commission to investigate the events of 1915 remained unanswered. However, in the circumstances where there is no progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, it is impossible to talk about progress in Armenian-Turkish relations.
October 10, 2009, foreign ministers of Turkey Ahmet Davutoglu and Armenia Edward Nalbandian signed protocols on the normalization of bilateral relations.
Despite that some countries divide the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement, these processes are interrelated, said earlier Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
During the summit in Pittsburgh, Turkish Prime Minister also discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
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