Azerbaijan sent an envoy recently to Ankara to explain the government's views on the reconciliation process between Yerevan and Ankara, which closed its borders with Armenia in 1993 after Armenian forces occupied Azerbaijani territory.
According to the envoy, Azerbaijan insists on three conditions to give its green light to opening the borders:
* Armenia should withdraw from five of the seven regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, which are Agdam, Fizuli, Jabrayil, Zangilan and Qubadli.
* The return of the southern portion of the Lachin corridor.
* The use by Turkey of the Lachin corridor.
The Lachin corridor connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. By enabling Turkey to also use the Lachin corridor, Azerbaijan wants to have direct land access to Turkey.
The envoy is said to have voiced concern about being left out of the talks between Armenia and Turkey.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a move to alleviate Azerbaijan's concerns, stated: "There will be no Turkish-Armenian deal before the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement. Then, problems between Turkey and Armenia can be solved, too.
"We hope the U.N. Security Council makes a decision naming Armenia as the occupier in Nagorno-Karabakh and calling for a withdrawal from the region. This is a process the Minsk Group could not succeed in for 17 years," Erdo?an said in a news conference he held late Wednesday.
The Minsk Group set up in 1992 and co-chaired by Russia, the United States and France is seeking a solution to Nagorno-Karabakh problem, one of the most intractable conflicts arising from the Soviet Union's collapse.
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