May 16, 2009 - 20:35 AMT
Turkey's ex-foreign minister does not believe in Armenian-Turkish reconciliation in near future
Ex-foreign minister of Turkey İlter Türkmen belives, that in the nearest future Ankara will not be able to normalize relations with Yerevan. According to the retired diplomat, normalization of relations with Armenia is somehow linked to the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement, but I thought that link was with the withdrawal of Armenia from the six regions adjacent to Nagorno-Karabakh, not Nagorno-Karabakh itself," I.lter Tu"rkmen, a former foreign minister, said. "But what the prime minister says now is different. He says normalization is not possible unless Armenia withdraws from Nagorno-Karabakh, which basically means there will be no normalization before a settlement to the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh."

He added, that "this is a very complicated problem, as complicated as Cyprus, and perhaps even worse," Turkmen said. "It seems that in the foreseeable future we will not be able to normalize relations with Armenia and we will lose the momentum that was opened up by the president's visit to Armenia," Turkmen said.