Erdogan urges Minsk Group ‘to fulfill its mission’

15 Aprel 2011 21:58 (UTC+04:00)

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called upon the OSCE Minsk Group to properly fulfill its mission on mediating a settlement to the long-standing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh.

"The United States, France and Russia [the Minsk Group’s co-chairs] should step up efforts to resolve this conflict," Turkish media quoted Erdogan as saying at a session of the Council of Europe’s parliamentary assembly.

He stressed that Turkey will reopen its border with Armenia only if the latter ends the occupation of Azerbaijan’s territories. "Turkey will not allow violation of friendly and fraternal Azerbaijan’s rights for the sake of Armenia’s interests," Erdogan said.