Gul on relations with Armenia: I believed more in solving problems not through war, but through diplomacy and politics
ArmInfo.. Establishing peace, safety and stability in one region of the world, leads to economic development of the regions, XI Turkish President Abdullah Gul, stated in an interview with APA ,expressing his attitude towards the protocols signed during his presidency on opening borders with Armenia.
"I believed more in solving problems not through war, but through diplomacy and politics. I worked for this, "Gul said. At the same time, he stressed that Ankara will never reconcile with the occupation of part of the lands of Azerbaijan. "We are one nation, two different states. This occupation lasts a long time. There are two ways of solving - either war, or peace and diplomacy. Of course, for a diplomatic solution, we need to negotiate. These negotiations are sometimes open. As you know, meetings are held within the framework of Minsk Group, when President of Azerbaijan and President of Armenia can meet and hold discussions. And sometimes meetings take place behind the scenes, diplomats sit down at the negotiating table, discuss "how we can solve this problem", ask the world to help. Unfortunately, the large states have not paid due attention to this topic for many years. I think that this issue is not left to remain frozen. 20-30 years have passed. What, should there be another 50? I did this to solve the problem. Unfortunately, this did not work, "Gul said.
At the same time, he expressed the conviction that in resolving conflicts, a preference should be given to a solution through diplomatic channels. "Because we see what wars lead to. The new generation grows away from its lands. It is sad. For me, the cessation of this occupation, which the United Nations condemned, is paramount. I did everything to prevent this problem from being saved in the frozen state. Unfortunately, this did not succeed, "Gul summarized.
On October 10, 2009, Turkish and Armenian Foreign Ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and Edward Nalbandian signed the Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations and the Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations in Zurich. The documents envisage the creation of joint commission of "independent historians" to study the issue of Armenian Genocide of 1915. The process of ratification of the protocols by the parliaments of Turkey and Armenia was frozen indefinitely, in connection with the fact that Turkey began to put forward different preconditions. And in February 2015 they were withdrawn from parliament by the order of President of Armenia.