MFA: Turkish paper report on Swiss backing in Karabakh issue “absurd”

November 12, 2013 – 17:47 AMT
Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman refused to comment on the Today’s Zaman report suggesting Turkey requested support from Switzerland to help resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict and mend ties with Yerevan.
“Absurd reports from absurd sources needn’t be commented on,” Tigran Balayan said.
During a visit to Switzerland in mid-October, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu told Swiss officials that Turkey is ready to normalize its relations with Armenia if the latter ‘withdraws from Karabakh’, Today’s Zaman quoted sources as saying.
The Swiss officials responded positively to Davutoğlu’s proposal, according to the sources.
Davutoğlu pointed out that relations with Armenia “are important for Turkey, which is trying to find new ideas and solutions to the existing problems”. He hinted that “Turkey will increase its studies for better relations with its neighbor in the coming days,” the sources said.
Turkey is particularly aiming to normalize relations with Armenia before 2015, the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, Today’s Zaman quoted Foreign Ministry sources as saying.
A senior Turkish official told Today’s Zaman that Turkey closed its borders with Armenia “not because of Nagorno Karabakh but because of the adjacent territories.”
Azerbaijan said “it would not oppose Turkey opening its border with Armenia if Yerevan leaves five of the seven adjacent regions,” according to the official, who also said that Yerevan “accepted the condition.”