“Turkey can’t let Azerbaijan be deprived from Nagorno-Karabakh region”, said Turkish former Prime Minister Mesud Yilmaz at the international conference on “Construction of Bridges” at his visit to Baku.
Former PM said that Turkey would open the border with Armenia if the latter country takes away its troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan. The protocol on border opening between Turkey and Armenia, which was signed in 2009, violated the interests of Azerbaijan.
Yilmaz noted that Turkey was the first country that recognized the independence of each 3 South Caucasus countries and closed the border with Armenia when it occupied Azerbaijan’s Kalbajar region. Though the Turkey stands for the sovereignty of Georgia, but it is against the efforts of Mikheil Saakashvili to win back the occupied areas.
Former Turkish PM also added that nowadays, the EU is not an important figure in the region, “EU only finances some projects”.
