ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stressed the urgent need to immediately open the “Zangezur corridor” and achieve a comprehensive peace agreement in order to facilitate normalization between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Hurriyet Daily reports.
Erdogan remarks came during a reception with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Ceyhun Bayramov in the capital Ankara on July 31, as reported by the Presidential Communications Directorate.
Trade, energy, transportation issues and the ongoing process of normalizing Azerbaijan-Armenia relations were central to the discussion during the meeting. Alongside Erdoğan, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Akif Çağatay Kılıç, the chief adviser to the president, were present at the reception.
Fidan, who had met with his Azerbaijani counterpart before the program at the Presidential Complex, echoed Erdoğan’s sentiment regarding the Zangezur corridor.
The Turkish top diplomat expressed that the key to achieving peace and stability in the region lies in a comprehensive peace agreement, with the opening of the corridor playing a vital role in this process. Fidan reassured that they are actively continuing the normalization process with Armenia, closely coordinating with Azerbaijan.
On the other hand Fidan defended Azerbaijan’s actions in blocking the Lachin corridor. “The Lachin corridor is Azerbaijani territory. Therefore, Azerbaijan takes whatever measure it deems necessary, and taking it is one of the greatest sovereign rights. We see that Azerbaijan is making every effort with humanitarian considerations,” he asserted.
