AFP news agency quotes the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry as saying in a statement that the normalization of relations between Turkey and Armenia before the withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territory would be "in direct contradiction with the interests of Azerbaijan."
The statement continues to say that this action "casts a shadow over the spirit of brotherly relations" between Azerbaijan and Turkey, which it says are built on deep historical roots.
It says Azerbaijan believes that the unilateral opening of the Turkish-Armenian border would call into question the architecture of peace and stability in the region.
The Azerbaijani reaction comes after Turkey and Armenia on October 10 signed accords to restore diplomatic ties and open borders after almost a century of enmity.
sponsored by
UN crime watchdog helps Iran set up unit to combat money-laundering from drugs trade
Iran has teamed with the United Nations anti-crime agency to set up a financial intelligence unit tasked with tackling the spread of money-laundering in the country, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) announced today.
Joint UN-African Union envoy to Darfur talks peace with armed rebel movements
The newly appointed head of the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur, known as UNAMID, today met with members from key rebel militia as part of a series of talks on the prospects for a durable peace in the war-scarred region in western Sudan.
The bitterness between Turkey and Armenia has centered on the deaths of more than 1 million Armenians under the Ottoman Turks during World War I.
Armenia says the deaths were genocide, which Turkey denies.
RSS