Azerbaijan does not allow Turkey to negotiate with us – Alen Simonyan

Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan commented on the reasons behind the continued closure of the Armenia-Turkey land border. According to Armenpress, he addressed the issue during a meeting with Armenian media representatives in Istanbul.

“Obviously, I cannot say what to expect. Initially, it was stated that the border would not be opened until the Nagorno-Karabakh issue was resolved. Then it was announced that the Karabakh issue had been resolved. After that, the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement was put forward. We negotiated that agreement – it was a complex and lengthy process. We reached agreement on 17 points, met for signing, shook hands, yet the process was still not completed,” Simonyan said.

He also addressed Azerbaijan’s role in the process.

“Azerbaijan, through its lobbying and influence, is currently hindering the process. On the one hand, it is negotiating with us, while on the other, it is not allowing Turkey to negotiate with us. This is a strange situation – Turkey appears to have become a hostage to these relations,” the Armenian parliament speaker noted.