Turkey’s foreign minister says peace between Ankara, Azerbaijan and Armenia is “close” after a meeting with his Azeri counterpart.

Ahmet Davutoglu said: “I think an impetus was created recently, and all sides, not only Azerbaijan and Armenia but also the Minsk group have to do their best to accelerate this process. If you compare the last eight months with the last seventeen years, I can say that we are really very close to a resolution. So it is time to eliminate all the obstacles preventing peace.”

The Minsk group or the OSCE Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe is mediating in peace talks between the three nations over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh.

During negotiations earlier this year, Turkey
pledged to open its border with Armenia – a move which angered the Azeris.

But diplomats hope that a new mood of conciliation
can bring an end to two decades of enmity among the three countries.

Copyright © 2012 euronews