The United States, Europe and Russia want to settle their geopolitical problems through opening of the Armenian-Turkish border, former Turkish President said.

"The U.S. often offered Turkey to open the border with Armenia but it never said what will be Turkey's benefits in that case," Suleiman Demirel said. "Together with my friend, Heydar Aliyev, we laid the foundation of Turkish-Azerbaijani relations. But there are short-sighted politicians who can damage our ties."

If Ankara really wants to become a regional leader it should press for liberation of the "occupied territories," according to Demirel.