Armenian acting premier: Yerevan ready to establish diplomatic relations with Ankara without preconditions

11.12.2018 10:31

Armenia is ready to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey, but without any precondition related to Karabakh problem, Armenian Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is quoted by TASS as saying at a briefing. br / br /

YEREVAN, December 11. /ARKA/. Armenia is ready to establish diplomatic relations with Turkey, but without any precondition related to Karabakh problem, Armenian Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is quoted by TASS as saying at a briefing.nbsp;br

“We are ready to establish direct relations with Turkey without any preconditions and hope that Turkey will take the same stance,” he said.nbsp;br

In September 2018, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaking in Baku, said that improvement of relations with Armenia is impossible without settlement of Karabakh conflict.nbsp;br

He also said that Armenia should not expect opening of border with Turkey while “20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory remains occupied by Armenia” and one million Azerbaijanis can’t return to their homeland.nbsp;br

Karabakh conflict broke out in 1988 when Karabakh, mainly populated by Armenians, declared its independence from Azerbaijan.br

On December 10, 1991, a few days after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a referendum took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the majority of the population (99.89%) voted for secession from Azerbaijan.nbsp;br

Afterwards, large-scale military operations began. As a result, Azerbaijan lost control over Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven regions adjacent to it.br

Some 30,000 people were killed in this war and about one million people fled their homes. nbsp;br

On May 12, 1994, the Bishkek cease-fire agreement put an end to the military operations.br

Тalks brokered by OSCE Minsk Group are being held over peaceful settlement of the conflict. The group is co-chaired by USA, Russia and France. -0---br