Turkey is occasionally trying to interfere in the Karabakh peace process and influence the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, the Chairman of RA NA Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs and ARFD member Hrayr Karapetyan told NEWS.am.

Hrayr Karapetyan labels Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s statement as a continuation of Ilham Aliyev’s words. Earlier Gul stated that the Minsk Group failed to achieve concrete results in the Karabakh peace process within 18 years and called Co-Chairs’ regional visits “tourist trips”.

Turkey and Azerbaijan do not want to accept that unilateral negotiations held by the Azerbaijani side are the reason for Minsk Group’s failure, he noted. Azerbaijan demands for unilateral concessions, not taking on any commitments itself. According to him, Minsk Group should remain the only international organization involved in the Karabakh peace process, whereas Gul’s accusations pursue an objective to compromise Minsk Group’s activities and shift the blame onto Armenia.

The MP also commented on Gul’s assertion that Armenia should resolve the Karabakh issue to establish normal relations in the region. “I think that Turkey should first think about the problems depending on country’s policy and then offer ways to tackle problems concerning a  third country. Turkey has to think about its responsibility and undertake relevant steps – end Armenia’s blockade, open the Armenian-Turkish border and only after that it can speak of Karabakh. It is clear that all Transcaucasian problems cannot be solved simultaneously,” he stressed.

The ARFD member emphasized that at present the Azerbaijani-Turkish duo is ready neither to settle the Karabakh conflict, nor normalize the Armenian-Turkish relations.