Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has renewed calls for Armenia to seek peace with Azerbaijan, stressing that progress in their ties would determine the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.
Erdogan welcomed the signing of two accords between Turkey and Armenia, long estranged by bloody history, as "an extremely positive stage" in fence-mending talks since August 2007 aimed at establishing formal ties and opening the border between the two neighbors.
He stressed however that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict between Azerbaijan, one of Turkey's closest allies, and Armenia would be a determining factor when the accords were submitted to the Turkish Parliament for ratification.
"The Parliament will look at the developments in the problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia", Erdogan told a meeting of his party's MPs.
"If the problems (…) are put on the track of solution, the Turkish people will embrace more the normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations and the Turkish Parliament's ratification of the protocols will become much easier".
Armenia says ties with Turkey should be established without
But Erdogan's government is under fire at home for reconciling with Yerevan without progress in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, accused by the opposition of selling out Azerbaijan, which has close ethnic, political and economic bonds with Turkey.
"We aim at a just, comprehensive and lasting settlement (…) I believe the obstacles in the way of peace can be eased", Erdogan said.
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