The Turkish parliament’s foreign affairs commission will not discuss ratification of the protocols on normalizing relations with Armenia if Azerbaijan is unhappy, a member of the commission, Bolu Metin Yilmaz, said on Wednesday.
“The protocols signed with Armenia will not be discussed in parliament's foreign affairs commission, if anything does not satisfy Azerbaijan,” Yilmaz, an MP from the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, told.
“Our president and prime minister regularly contact Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. If Ilham Aliyev says that the problems are being tackled and it is high time for us to take some steps, we will include these protocols on the commission’s agenda,” he said.
Yilmaz said Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the chairman of parliament's foreign affairs commission had discussed the issue.
“Our parliamentarians held discussions in Azerbaijan under the leadership of the chairman of our commission. We will not take any steps concerning the protocols unless we reach a solution satisfying Azerbaijan,” he said.
The MP commented on the reconsideration of the bill on recognition of the Armenian genocide in the US Congress.
“These bills are included on the agenda of Congress every year before 24 April. There is some tension, but it calms down every year after the US president does not use the word ’genocide’ in his message. The genocide claims have nothing to do with the release of the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenians.
“Our main aim is the liberation of Azerbaijani territories from occupation as soon as possible. We suggest establishing a joint commission with Armenia. All our archives are open — archives should be open so that the genocide claims are discussed objectively. Therefore, we first of all demand the opening of the archives. Irrespective of their demands, the main stipulation for us will be Armenia's withdrawal from the occupied Azerbaijani territories,” Yilmaz said.
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