(Reuters) - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan urged international mediators on Tuesday to speed up efforts to resolve the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh as Ankara aims to normalize ties with long-time foe Armenia.
Talks on the future of Nagorno-Karabakh, disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan after a war in the 1990s, have been dragging on for more than a decade under the auspices of the Minsk Group linking Russia, France and the United States. Turkey has said it hopes to open its border with Armenia by the end of the year under a protocol to establish diplomatic ties, but further progress has been hampered in the past by the frozen Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"Erdogan said the Minsk group that is co-presided by the U.S. has an important role in contributing to the improvement of the relations with Armenia and asked the group to increase their efforts," Anatolian news agency quoted him as saying.
Erdogan made his comments in New York, where he traveled to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Turkish newspapers have reported that Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will meet his Armenian counterpart on the sidelines of the gathering.
Anticipation over an Ankara-Yerevan thaw has been growing ahead of a planned visit by Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian to Turkey on October 14, when he is due to attend the return leg of a World Cup qualifying football match between the two countries.
Sarkisian has said he will not travel to the game, the first leg of which Turkish President Abdullah Gul watched last year in Yerevan, unless the border has reopened or there are clear signs it is about to open.
Talks on the future of Nagorno-Karabakh, disputed by Armenia and Azerbaijan after a war in the 1990s, have been dragging on for more than a decade under the auspices of the Minsk Group linking Russia, France and the United States. Turkey has said it hopes to open its border with Armenia by the end of the year under a protocol to establish diplomatic ties, but further progress has been hampered in the past by the frozen Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
"Erdogan said the Minsk group that is co-presided by the U.S. has an important role in contributing to the improvement of the relations with Armenia and asked the group to increase their efforts," Anatolian news agency quoted him as saying.
Erdogan made his comments in New York, where he traveled to attend the U.N. General Assembly. Turkish newspapers have reported that Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will meet his Armenian counterpart on the sidelines of the gathering.
Anticipation over an Ankara-Yerevan thaw has been growing ahead of a planned visit by Armenian President Serzh Sarkisian to Turkey on October 14, when he is due to attend the return leg of a World Cup qualifying football match between the two countries.
Sarkisian has said he will not travel to the game, the first leg of which Turkish President Abdullah Gul watched last year in Yerevan, unless the border has reopened or there are clear signs it is about to open.