Turkey reassured its ally Azerbaijan on Thursday it had no plans to open its border with Armenia while Armenian forces occupied part of Azeri territory. Turkey shut its border in 1993 to show solidarity with oil-rich, Turkic-speaking Azerbaijan in its long and bitter dispute with Armenia over the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Despite Armenia's continued occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is inside Azerbaijan's borders, some Turkish businessmen and media have called for an opening of Turkey's border and a resumption of trade.
"The continued occupation (by Armenia) and the fact that nearly a million of our Azeri brothers are refugees remain an obstacle (to opening the border)," Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said after talks with his Azeri counterpart.
"From this point of view I hope talks towards a peace settlement will be productive ... and that the occupation will come to an end. Then all relations can be normalised," Gul told reporters.
Azerbaijan suffered a humiliating defeat in a 1988-94 war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh after the region's mainly Armenian population tried to break away from Azeri rule.
An estimated 35,000 people were killed and one million refugees fled to Azerbaijan, where they remain. At the same time, thousands of ethnic Armenian refugees fled to Armenia.
A cease-fire ended the conflict but the dispute persists despite international efforts to broker a deal.
Turkey's relations with Armenia are also clouded by Armenian claims that Ottoman Turkish troops committed genocide against its people between 1915 and 1923. Turkey denies the claims.
Turkey is due to begin entry talks with the European Union. Some in the EU, especially in France, home to Europe's biggest Armenian diaspora, say Turkey must open its border with Armenia and recognise the "genocide" before it can join the bloc.
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