ArmInfo. Turkey may play a positive role in Nagorno- Karabakh settlement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov thinks.
"The fact that Turkey can play a positive role lifting blockade from Nagorno Karabakh, ensuring normal economic cooperation in the region is an important factor, which we always consider. And we would be glad if Armenia and Turkey return to fulfillment of agreements without relating them to Karabakh conflict. But we feel that progress in Karabakh settlement would be key factor in normalization of Armenian- Turkish relations", Lavrov told journalists in Yerevan, TASS informs.
To recall, On October 12 Mevlut Cavusoglu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, stated at the autumn plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that Turkey has exerted sincere efforts for peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "The Minsk Group and Russia are making efforts for the settlement of the conflict. The issue of withdrawing Armenian Armed Forces' troops from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, particularly from the 5 districts has been on the agenda recently. Russia has shared these efforts with us, and so did we. It's because we support any solution that is in Azerbaijan's interests", the Turkish minister noted. At the same time, the Turkish Minister touched upon the Armenian-Turkish relations and stressed that Ankara seeks to mend the relations with Armenia. The FM added that Turkey has also tried to normalize bilateral ties with Armenia, signing an agreement in Switzerland (Zurich protocols in 2009 - editor's note), however the process failed.