The rumors that Turkey is eager to open the Turkish-Armenian border do not correspond to reality, Azeri president Heydar Aliyev told reporters on his return from the 10-th summit of Economic Cooperation Organization’s member countries held in Istanbul.
‘The Armenia-Turkey border will remain closed until Armenian armed forces leave the ‘Azeri occupied territories’, Turkish president Ahmed Sezer assured Aliyev at the meeting in Istanbul.
According to Azeri mass media, Aliyev also met with Turkish businessmen, among them being the Turkish co-chairman of the Armenian-Turkish Businessmen Union Kaan Soyak. The latter stressed the necessity of re-opening the Kars-Gyumri-Tbilisi-Baku railway. Nevertheless, Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan will not launch economic relations with Armenia, neither will open the Baku-Meghri-Nakhichevan-Yerevan railway unless the ‘occupied territories’ are returned to Azerbaijan, and the Karabagh conflict is settled.
Asked about losing patience over peaceful negotiations on Karabagh issue, Aliyev noted that ‘each person should have patience, especially the president’. ‘I am not tired of negotiating over the issue. Even if I were tired, what should I do? Re-start the war? I do not consider it necessary and will not start armed actions. But, if necessary, we can fight and return our territories’,- stressed Mr. Aliyev.
The Azeri president once again confirmed his intention to run for president in the polls slated for 2003 in Azerbaijan. ‘I think that I can still remain a president. I have big experience, and have solved many problems of my country. In case I am re-elected I can serve the Azeri nation for another five years’,- said 79 year-old Aliyev.
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