Certain progress is observed in Turkey’s relations with Syria and Iran in the context of relaxation of visa regime and increase of trade turnover, said Turkish Ambassador to U.S.

Delivering a speech on “Turkey in Europe, the Middle East and Beyond”at Johns Hopkins University’s School of International Studies, Namik Tan noted that the opposite process is observed regarding Turkey’s relations with Cyprus and Armenia.

Speaking of the Karabakh peace process, the Ambassador noted Turkey strongly supports the efforts of Minsk Group. He stressed the sides should find the most acceptable solution to the conflict. However, while making a decision it should be taken into account that “Armenia has occupied 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory which is unacceptable to Ankara.”

Commenting on Armenian-Turkish relations, Ambassador Tan once again linked them to the Karabakh peace process, adding “it takes two to tango”.