Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talked today about certain progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement process, calling on Armenia to return five occupied regions to Azerbaijan to start the process of normalization of the situation.
The Turkish Ambassador to Russia Umit Yardym told Vestnik Kavkaza, commenting on the Turkish President's statements: "Regional cooperation and settling of the problems existing in Nagorno-Karabakh are vital for us, because the stability in the region is above all. And, of course, the fact that Armenia still occupies these territories is unacceptable," the ambassador said.
"Turkey attaches great importance to the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem. We are trying to build a dialogue with both sides of the conflict. If we can speed up the process of the peaceful settlement, we will be happy, because the absence of this source of tensions in the region will benefit all the countries in this region," Umit Yardym assured.
Answering a question from Vestnik Kavkaza about what Turkey can offer Russia in addition to the agreement on the 50/50 funding of the onshore section of the Turkish Stream pipeline, the ambassador said: "We have decided to actively develop our contacts on the Turkish Stream. As you know, we have started negotiations before the crisis, then we had differences. But now, after the meeting on August 9, a formal dialogue will be started," the Turkish Ambassador to Russia noted.
"This is a very long-term project: we should decide on how many lines will be laid, how many branches will be built. Now we are discussing the markets [for the product]. And in the next few weeks, these negotiations will continue. I assure you that these negotiations are only gaining momentum," Umit Yardym summed up.
