BAKU (A.A) - 02.05.2002 - Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Turk said on Thursday that he believed the Upper Karabakh problem could be solved when Armenia totally withdrew from the territories it occupied, adding, ''development of relations between Turkey and Armenia is impossible as long as this problem is not solved.''
Turk who is currently paying an official visit to Azerbaijan visited Azerbaijani Prime Minister Artur Rasizade in Baku.
Speaking at the meeting, Turk said that Turkey which shared problems of Azerbaijan of which twenty percent of territories was under occupation unjustly, was actively contributing to solution of this problem.
Stressing that the problem would be solved when Armenia totally withdrew from the Azerbaijani territories it occupied, Turk said that they wanted a solution which the two sides could accept and would be reached through dialogue.
Turk recalled that the cooperation protocol had been signed between the Turkish and Azerbaijani justice ministries on bilateral relations in field of laws, and this agreement foresaw organization of mutual seminars and visits and exchange of information and personnel.
He said that they would discuss issues of implementation of this protocol in 2002.
Noting that the judicial assistance agreement signed between the two countries included penal, legal and commercial issues, Turk said that a new agreement would be signed under the light of latest developments.
Meanwhile, Rasizade said that he was pleased with development of close relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Giving information about Upper Karabakh problem on the map, Rasizade stressed that seven different administrative regions and twenty percent in total of Azerbaijani territories were under occupation and that there were nearly one million refugees in Azerbaijan which had now nearly eight million population.
Rasizade added that this situation which had started nearly ten years ago would have very serious negative effects on every field, prticularly economy.
Following this meeting, Justice Minister Turk visited his Azerbaijani counterpart Fikret Mamedov.
This meeting was closed to press.