ISTANBUL (Hurriyet)–Azerbaijan has allegedly sent an envoy to Ankara with a set of demands Yerevan must meet before Baku gives its consent for the opening of the Turkish-Armenian border, the Turkish Hurriyet newspaper revealed on Thursday.
The preconditions demand Armenia cede control of the liberated districts surrounding the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and allow for the creation of a Turkish-Azeri land corridor through the southern part of the strategic region of Kashatagh (Lachin), linking Armenia and Karabakh.
According to Hurriyet, an Azeri envoy was dispatched to Ankara this week to explain his government’s views on the reconciliation process and relay Baku’s demands for allowing the two countries to continue negotiations.
All three conditions sidestep the ongoing peace talks between Armenia and Azerbaijan mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group.
The first condition calls on Armenia to withdraw from five of the seven liberated regions surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh, which are Agdam, Fizuli, Jabrayil, Zangilan and Qubadli. The second stipulation demands Armenia cede the southern portion of the Lachin corridor and the third requires Armenia give Turkey full access to that region, creating a long anticipated land bridge between the two Turkic allies.
The envoy is said to have voiced Baku’s concern over being left out of the talks between Armenia and Turkey.
