Turkey's Erdogan urges progress on Nagorno-Karabakh

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan urged international mediators on Tuesday to speed up efforts to resolve a dispute over the Nagorno Karabakh enclave as Ankara aims to normalize ties with long-time foe Armenia.



Talks on the future of Nagorno Karabakh, have been dragging on for more than a decade under the auspices of the Minsk Group linking Russia, France and the United States.



Turkey has said it hopes to open its border with Armenia by the end of the year under a protocol to establish diplomatic ties, but further progress has been hampered in the past by the frozen Nagorno Karabakh conflict.



"Erdogan said the Minsk group that is co-presided by the U.S. has an important role in contributing to the improvement of the relations with Armenia and asked the group to increase their efforts," Anatolian reported.



Erdogan made his comments in New York, where he traveled to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Turkish newspapers have reported that Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will meet his Armenian counterpart on the sidelines of the gathering.