ANKARA DEMANDS RECOGNITION OF TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS BY AZERBAIJAN

PanARMENIAN.Net - As it is known, recently Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Jem was in Azerbaijan on an official call. Foreign Ministry of Turkey spread an official statement about the results of the visit. The document says, Ankara "supports Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, and proves this support by concrete actions." The Turkish foreign department characterizes the present condition of the negotiation process as "stalemate." The statement does not deny that in course of the meetings with officials of Baku Ismail Jem concerned the matter of Azerbaijan's recognition of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, self-proclaimed after Turkish troops invaded the northern part of the island. The Foreign Ministry statement says: "Turkey would like to expand contacts between Azerbaijan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, develop relations in all spheres, especially in economy, social and cultural arenas." As it is known, the official Baku does not make haste to recognize independence of the Turkish part of Cyprus, fearing of a precedent, which would not be favorable at all within the context of the Karabakh settlement. Concerning the opportunity of establishing diplomatic relations with Armenia and opening Turkish-Armenian border Turkish Foreign Ministry announced, "Reconsideration of the Turkish Government policy in that regard is not planned at present." "We are not against normalization of relations with Armenia, but the Armenian side has much responsibility for achieving it," - the document says.