The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has commented on remarks by the Turkish foreign minister that Ankara is keen to see all borders open.
'Azerbaijan is also in favour of opening and unblocking all the borders in the region,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov said today.
'However, for Azerbaijan to open its border with Armenia, the Armenian armed forces must withdraw from the occupied territories and Azerbaijani displaced persons must return there. This is the basic condition for Azerbaijan to open borders with Armenia. In addition, these steps are consistent with resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Karabakh and establishing peace and stability in the region,' Polukhov said.
On 1 May, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addressed a conference at Oxford University on 'Turkey’s foreign policy in a changing world'. 'Of course we want to open our border because we want full integration with our neighbours,' Davutoglu said in his keynote speech. 'However, it would not be enough to open the Turkish-Armenian border. We also want the Armenian-Azerbaijani border to be opened so that regional stability can be restored.'
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