Gul: "The Karabakh issue can be solved through dialogue and mutual understanding"

President Abdullah Gul yesterday met with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev in the Azeri capital Baku. Afterwards, speaking at a joint press conference, Gul said that he hoped the Karabakh issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia could be solved through dialogue and mutual understanding. Stating that the Turkish-Azeri friendship is a permanent one, he added, "The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railways projects are examples of the good economic ties between our countries." Turkey has always supported Azerbaijan on political issues, and will continue to do so, he added. Asked if his recent visit to Yerevan had disturbed the Azeri people, Gul said, "No one should be disturbed, but if some were, this is unfair to Turkey. Turkey has long sacrificed its interests to support Azerbaijan." Asked about prospects for a summit between Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, Gul stated that the countries' leaders should start to work to solve their issues. Following the press conference, Aliyev hosted a dinner in honor of Gul, with Energy and Natural Resources Minister Hilmi Guler also in attendance.