No document has been signed with Turkey
"We had no intention to sign a document on Armenian-Turkish relations today. The negotiations are underway and we have achieved some progress. We do think that we are close to the solution of the issue in the near future," Armenia's Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian said following today's sitting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization.
Note that electronic and print media have been writing over the past two days that the Foreign Ministers of Armenia and Turkey are going to sign an agreement on the normalization of Armenian-Turkish relations in Yerevan. Mr. Nalbandian refuted the information.
Edward Nalbandian gave a joint conference with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan, Mahmud Mammadguliyev, who answered reporters'' questions concerning Armenian-Turkish relations.
"It is upon the two countries to decide their relations. We don't intervene with their home affairs. We simply watch the process. Azerbaijan's position is as follows: we welcome the efforts of any country towards the settlement of the Karabakh conflict. We will accept any real and concrete proposal that would contribute to the solution of the issue. You know that Armenian-Turkish ties were broken after the occupation of Azeri lands. In this regard we think that the restoration of these ties should be connected with the conflict resolution."
As for Turkey's involvement in the negotiations over the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the Armenian side naturally refutes it while Azerbaijan finds Turkey's engagement reasonable.
"The negotiations on Nagorno Karabakh are underway between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group and with the support of the Co-Chairs. There is no other format of negotiations. Turkey does not act as a mediator in the settlement process," the Armenian Foreign Minister declared.
Mahmud Mammadguliyev reminded that "Turkey is a Minsk group member and one of the most serious countries in the region and Azerbaijan is ready to consider Turkey's proposals over conflict regulation."
