Turkey won't take any steps that would harm Azerbaijan, Gul assures Azeri deputies

At the Cankaya Presidential Palace yesterday, President Abdullah Gül received a group of Azeri women deputies now visiting Ankara to express concern over the possible normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations. During the meeting, Gül said Turkey has always stood by Azerbaijan and will continue to do so, assuring them that Turkey will not open its border with Armenia before the Nagorno-Karabakh issue is solved. Echoing late Azeri President Haidar Aliyev, Gül called Turkey and Azerbaijan one nation with two states, adding that Turkey will not open its border with Armenia unless Turkey's expectations are met. Underlining the importance of Turkish-Azeri fellowship, Gül said this guarantees that Turkey will not take any steps which would harm Azerbaijan. Speaking to reporters afterwards, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev's Advisor Rena Mirzazade, who led the group during their talks in Ankara, said that before Turkey opens its border with Armenia, Yerevan should withdraw its troops from the Azerbaijani territory it is occupying. "We know that Turkey is on our side in our rightful quest and will never abandon us," she said. In related news, speaking to reporters in Yerevan on the sidelines of the 20th meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Azeri Deputy Foreign Minister Mahmud Mamadguliyev said that solving problems between Turkey and Armenia should be tied to solving the dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He added that Azeris believe Turkey will protect their interests.