Turkey will not open Armenia border amid Karabakh "occupation": Erdoğan

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sept. 15 said solution to the Karabakh issue is "sine qua non" for mending relations with Armenia, stressing that Ankara will not open its border to its neighbor until it ends its occupation of the Azeri region.

Speaking at an event to mark the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Baku by the Caucasian Islamic Army, Erdoğan recalled the 1992 Khojaly massacre that killed hundreds of Azerbaijani citizens.

"Those who cannot explain what happened in Khojaly 26 years ago, the massacre in Upper Karabakh, and declare the killers heroes, should not give Turkey any kind of history lesson," Erdoğan said, referring to Armenia.

Erdoğan also added that "those who occupy 20 percent of Azerbaijani lands and prevent over 1 million Azerbaijanis to return to their land should not expect Turkey to open its borders".