and their Turkish counterparts to stress their opposition to such a deal.
Deputies from both countries were reassured yesterday by President Abdullah Gul, who reportedly said Turkey would not take any action that would hurt Azerbaijan's interests.
Visiting Azerbaijani lawmakers held a press conference yesterday with the participation of Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, Izmir deputy, Senol Bal, who noted that national policies could not be changed without political consensus. Speaking at the press conference, the Republican People's Party, or CHP, Izmir deputy Canan Aritman said that the government was under pressure. "They will not dare to open that border," she said. Azerbaijani deputy Guler Ahmedova noted that Nagorno-Karabakh was Turkish territory, and that Azeris would struggle to the end in the name of all Turks to retake it. Bal underlined that the delegation received the full support of Parliament Speaker Koksal Toptan, CHP leader Deniz Baykal and MHP leader Devlet Bahceli.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Consul General in Turkey's northeastern province Kars, Hasan Sultanoglu, said that opening the Armenian Turkish border would have double the economic, cultural and national effect on Turkey than it would on Azerbaijan. "Prime Minister asserted that the border would not be opened without a resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh issue. Armenian groups come to Kars to tell locals they are living on Armenian soil. We see no positive attitude from the Armenians," Sultanoglu said.
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